Reaching for the Stars
by kira-firelight
Summary: Rated T just in case. Skykit is one of two brothers born into Rainclan. For reasons unknown, his brother is the object of negative attention from both his parents and his clan. As his brother sets his sights on leadership in the distant future, Skykit begins to walk the path of the medicine cat, hoping his choices will never clash with that of his brother's.
1. Chapter 1

Allegiances

Rainclan

Leader - Flashstar - Tom with a brilliant white coat and yellow eyes - A slightly paranoid and cynical individual, who still manages to be supportive and kind to his clan, viciously protective of his clan

Deputy - Lightningfang - Golden tabby with white muzzle, underbelly, and underside of tail and amber eyes

Medicine Cat - Minnowheart - Small white-cat with black tabby stripes and hazel eyes - A surprisingly feisty she-cat who has little to no patience for cats avoiding her den when injured or sick, rather no nonsense, though she does care

Warriors - Leopardfrost - Black bengal tom cat with hazel eyes - A vaguely cynical cat who is soft under a cooler exterior, tends to feel apprehensive when cats are too idealistic

 _Apprentice: Faithpaw_

Waterfang - Black tom with white patches and gray eyes - Confident and gentle, loves to teach and guide the next generation

 _Apprentice: Honeypaw_

Morningglow - Light ginger she-cat with brown eyes - A confident, sometimes pushy cat, who generally does not like to be wrong, fiercely protective over her loved ones

Cedarstrike - Brown tabby tom with hazel eyes - Slightly awkward tom who prefers to follow rather than the lead, generally not easily fazed or put off balance

Needlebird - Light brown tom with brown eyes - Relaxed tom with a slightly sarcastic easy sort of humor, massive mother hen and tends to fuss over clanmates even more than the medicine cat, has a little more knowledge of herbs than your average warrior

Sootspeck - Gray tom with speckled darker spots and brown eyes - Somewhat pessimistic tom who tries to be optimistic, often weary and sounds tired

Snowyash - White she-cat with soft gray tabby stripes with blue eyes - Hopeful and idealistic she-cat who prefers diplomacy over conflict

Apprentices - Honeypaw - Daughter of Morningglow and Cedarstrike, Light ginger she-cat with hazel eyes - A cocky young cat who loves to talk and is usually rather supportive of the cats around her

Faithpaw - Daughter of Sootspeck and Snowyash, White she-cat with soft gray tabby stripes with brown eyes - Determined young she-cat, values perseverance and generally

Queens - Birchwhisper - Lightningfang's mate, Mother of Skykit and Fadingkit, Beautiful silvery tabby with blue eyes, a proud mother

Lilysnow - Waterfang's mate, Mother of Creekkit, Salmonkit, and Shinekit, White she-cat with amber eyes, a gentle and supportive mother

Kits - Skykit - Golden tom with blue eyes - Reserved, quiet, willing to do his best and is fine with that, places more value in family

Fadingkit - Silver tabby with white muzzle, underbelly, and underside of tail and amber eyes - Ambitious, feels underappreciated, bold and determined

Creekkit - Black tom with white patches and gray eyes - Timid, but dislikes being seen as a coward and often pushes himself past his limit

Salmonkit - White she-cat with amber eyes - Curious and generally kind, asks a lot of questions

Shinekit - White she-cat with black patches and amber eyes - Lazy with a tendency to actually nap rather frequently, likes word games rather than physical games

Elders - Shadowsnake - Blind black-furred tom with nasty scars over both eyes, eyes are a faded yellow - Vaguely grumpy tom who likes complaining to whoever will listen, but appreciates cats who stays and rewards them with advice and stories

* * *

Chapter 1

"C'mon, wake up already!" Of all things, the one thing that Skykit wanted to wake up to, he couldn't say that his brother's whining was one of them.

"Leave your brother alone, Fadingkit." Scolded their mother. "He'll open his eyes when he's ready."

His brother didn't seem to be deterred, judging by how his whining continued. "I can't go outside until you open your eyes, and I really want to explore the camp with you!" Fadingkit pleaded. Skykit personally thought that his brother was really overselling it, what with his voice increasing in pitch.

Skykit yawned, and tentatively tried opening one eye. He supposed exploring the camp with Fadingkit could be nicer than staying here in darkness. His eyes fluttered open to see a soft face of gray fur, with streaks of darker gray running through it. Almost half of the face he saw was covered in white, and he was surprised by the intense, fiery eyes he was met with. After his first experience with darkness, the sudden splash of color was somewhat startling.

"Finally! Your eyes are open!" Came Fadingkit's voice out of the mouth he could see. Was this bright-eyed kitten his brother? To him, his brother was an insistent, whiny voice. Skykit guessed he'd have to get used to thinking of his brother as a fiery eyed kitten as well. He wondered what he looked like. Did he looked like Fadingkit?

"Uh, yeah… I figured it'd be a nice time to see, and get out and see the camp with you." Skykit felt a sort of tension in his face. Was he smiling?

He wasn't too sure, because Fadingkit was giving him a strange look.

"Your smile is funny looking." His brother declared. The silver tabby suddenly leaned down, and seemed about ready to leap into the air. "Now, c'mon let's go! We can go into the camp, right Mom?!" Fadingkit's gaze suddenly jumped to something behind Skykit, and his own gaze followed. His eyes widened as he took in their mother's appearance.

She was beautiful, with neat, sleek fur. Her pelt looked a lot like Fadingkit's, an attractive silver with dark stripes curling around her. Though, she didn't have white fur like Skykit's brother did, and her eyes were a calm blue, instead of the intense amber of her son. Though, her face left him feeling a tiny bit… Off. He couldn't really put his paw on it, inexperienced with interpreting what he could see.

"Yes, yes. Just be sure to not get in anyone's way." His mother's voice didn't sound nearly as comforting as Skykit remembered.

Suddenly, Fadingkit bumped shoulders with him. "C'mon! C'mon!" His energetic brother instantly began almost bouncing towards the light that marked the nursery's exit.

"Really, Birchwhisper. You should allow them to be kits, and get in trouble as kits will." Came a gentle voice. Skykit looked to see a queen with a pure white coat and amber eyes, gentler than his brother's. She seemed nicer at first sight than Birchwhisper, their own mother.

"Skykit….!" The return of Fadingkit's high-pitched whining.

"I'm coming!" Skykit chirped out as he scrambled to turn around and follow after his brother, shutting his eyes tight as he crossed the threshold. He stopped after crossing, and slowly opened his eyes. Everything was… Brighter than in the nursery. He looked over his shoulder, and it looked like there was a big droopy thing over the nursery.

"Hey!" Chirped a voice in front of the two, causing Skykit to return his gaze to in front of him and he blinked. There were three other kits. He knew of the other three kits in the nursery, Lilysnow's children. He'd only spoken to Shinekit, and that was only once. The voice that had spoken was much more energetic from what he remembered of Shinekit's lazy voice.

Fadingkit nudged his shoulder again, and Skykit's gaze suddenly snapped to his brother. "These are the other kits!" He said, though he had to wonder how dumb his brother thought he was. "The chirpy white one is Salmonkit! The lazy patchy-looking one is Shinekit! And the shrimpy patchy-looking one is Creekkit!"

"H-Hey…!" Protested the one that Fadingkit had pointed out as Creekkit. "I'm not shrimpy! I'm just as brave as any of you!"

Salmonkit nudged her brother's shoulder. "Hey, of course you are!" Then she glared at Fadingkit, and Skykit suddenly felt awkward. "Don't talk to my brother like that! If he's shrimpy, then you're…! You're…! You're stupid!" Skykit thought that after such an effort… Stupid sounded like a kind of lame comeback.

However, it seemed to work perfectly fine on Fadingkit. "I'm not stupid, your face is stupid!"

"What does that even mean?!"

The back and forth bickering infested with insults continued on, and Skykit's feeling of awkwardness failed to subside. "H-Hey… C'mon guys…" He tried weakly, but his attempts at breaking up the fighting didn't have enough fire in them to even reach the argumentative cat's ears. He sighed.

He suddenly was aware of Shinekit's lazy voice next to him. "Leave them be. Once they get it out of their systems, I'm sure they'll be friends." Skykit turned his head.

"You think so?" The arguing didn't really seem… Like the prelude to friendship. From what he knew of friendship… Weren't friends supposed to be nice to each other.

Instead of affirming, Shinekit simply shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows. Probably. Maybe not."

Skykit turned his eyes back to the bickering Salmonkit and Fadingkit, as Creekkit seemed to be… Honestly, he couldn't tell if he was trying to help or taking sides.

"Hey… What do I look like?" He asked.

"Eh? You're just sort of… Gold. You've got blue eyes." Shinekit said, after taking a quick glance at Skykit up from down.

"Gold, huh…? I must look like my Dad." Skykit murmured, but he didn't really know. Sight beyond darkness was a new thing for him, and while he… Kind of remembered what his Dad was supposed to sound like, he certainly didn't know what the tom looked like. He guessed he had his mother eyes, though. Birchwhisper had blue eyes, like he did. He wondered if Lightningfang, his father, had amber eyes like the fiery orbs possessed by Fadingkit.

Shinekit yawned. Skykit blinked and looked at the black and white she-kit with surprise. "You can't be tired already?"

"I like my naps. Don't quite have the energy to keep up with those two." She said, shrugging again. Skykit had a feeling like it'd be a real chore to even offend this kitten. Though, he supposed it was for the best. He liked the idea of having someone to talk to, who was calm and not going to join the argument.

Creekkit didn't seem to be as fiery as his brother or Salmonkit, but he seemed to be making an effort to be.

Though, the argument seemed to have taken a different turn.

"It's not like you know everything!" Fadingkit squeaked indignantly.

"W-Well, no… But I ask a ton of questions so I know a lot of things!" Defended Salmonkit. "I talk to grumpy old Shadowsnake and the apprentices all the time! The apprentices are really nice and answer all my questions! All the warriors always tell me the same thing, it's always 'when you're older with them'..." She seemed to have forgotten she was arguing with Fadingkit, as she turned her body and started staring at her paws.

Fadingkit walked over to Salmonkit and nudged her cheek with a soft forepaw. "The apprentices? Who are they? Can me and Skykit talk to them? They sound pretty cool."

Shinekit sighed beside Skykit. "Looks like we're about to move."

Skykit wasn't sure how the argument had been derailed so quickly, but it seemed like they were all going to go find the apprentices of the clan. He and Shinekit trailed behind the three other kits who were all chattering with each other as they walked across camp, to where Salmonkit claimed the apprentice's slept.

"Hey, how many apprentices are there?" Fadingkit asked.

"Just two. Faithpaw and Honeypaw. Faithpaw's nice, but Honeypaw's kinda loud. She… Kind of talks a lot, and you kinda forgot what you were trying to talk about in the first place…" Creekkit admitted.

"Yeah, yeah! It's loads easier trying to get a straight answer out of Faithpaw! But it's hard because we don't want to hurt Honeypaw's feelings… 'Cause then ya feel like a big jerk and Faithpaw gets mad and doesn't wanna answer you!" Salmonkit chirped.

"Oh. Jeez, they sound really close. Are they siblings?" Fadingkit asked.

"Nah, they're just best friends." Salmonkit replied.

Fadingkit squinted. "Friends can be better than just friends?" He asked, sounding a little confused.

"It's like… A friend that's almost your sibling! Not all of your friends are going to be almost family. Some of them are just friend friends!" Creekkit explained. Fadingkit's face seemed deep in thought, before he complained loudly.

"That makes no sense!"

Skykit gave a nervous laugh from the back. "It does a little…" He replied softly.

He didn't like the betrayed look Fadingkit gave him. "It totally doesn't!"

Salmonkit then promptly swatted at Creekkit's ears. "Moron! You gotta make it clear! Like the air inside camp!"

Fadingkit perked up at the mention of that. "Huh? How do you mean?"

Creekkit looked ready to reply, when Salmonkit practically stuck her paw into Creekkit's open mouth. "No no no! Let me say it this time!" She withdrew her paw, while Creekkit tried to spit out any hairs that had gotten into his mouth. "Most of Rainclan's territory outside is hard to see! It's called fog or something. Basically, it's like if the clouds in the sky were on the ground, so it's super hard to see! Except, Honeypaw and Faithpaw say we'll learn how to navigate through it anyways when we become apprentices!" She squeaked excitedly, seeming very happy about learning how to get through the territory when they got older.

Personally, Skykit thought that sounded a little… Tedious. Why didn't Rainclan live somewhere that was easier to live in? Judging by Shinekit's sighs, it seemed she agreed with him.

Skykit eyed Fadingkit, who had a strange look in his eye that made the golden tom-kit feel uneasy. He didn't mention it to anyone, since he wasn't really sure if he was imagining it or if the look had been real.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Skykit loved the feeling of clouds under his paws. It felt like walking on damp moss, but not unpleasant. The clouds he walked on were fluffy, and reminded him of being pressed up against Fadingkit as they slept. The comfort of having his brother so near helped him sleep at night with peaceful dreams as opposed to the cool air lightly brushed against his pelt.

About a quarter moon before, and two moons after Skykit first opened his eyes, Birchwhisper had decided that Fadingkit was grown up enough to have his own nest, apart from her and Skykit. Though, Lilysnow had been far from approving of the decision. The two queens hadn't known that he'd been listening in, but he'd heard them arguing. Lilysnow seemed to think that what Mom had done was… Wrong somehow? He'd heard a word he didn't know the meaning of: Cruel. The word sent a shiver down his spine. The next day, he'd found Faithpaw and asked her what the word meant. He still remembered the strange look in her eyes when he asked, before explaining what it meant.

He still didn't understand how giving Fadingkit his own nest was cruel.

He didn't understand why he didn't get his own nest as well. Mom said she wanted to keep him close but… Didn't want to keep Fadingkit close as well? He still crawled out of the nest he and Birchwhisper shared every night, and joined his brother in sleep. Their mother never seemed happy when she saw where Skykit had gone to in the morning.

Suddenly he felt a frantic nudging at his cheek. He groaned, and his world of clouds disappeared as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Finally!" His brother exclaimed. "I thought you were never going to wake up!"

Suddenly, Salmonkit rushed in and was next to Fadingkit. "Shut up!" She whispered shouted. "We're trying to be sneaky!"

Skykit's eyes blinked slowly. "Eh, wha-?" He really didn't get what was happening, but he got a feeling they were going to do something that Birchwhisper would disapprove of.

"C'mon, Skykit! There's no way we're waiting until we're six moons old to see the territory!" Skykit's fears were immediately confirmed. They were leaving the safety of camp to go explore the territory. He groaned, and rose to his paws.

"That sounds like a really bad idea… What if something happens to us out there? No one will know!" Skykit voiced his concerns, but apparently his words were falling upon deaf ears, as Fadingkit immediately waved off his concerns.

"No way! We'd totally fight off any enemies we find, or even better a fox! There's like, five of us! That's why we're all going!" He chirped, even as Skykit despaired at his brothers incredibly flawed logic.

"W-Wait… Five? Don't tell me you convinced Creekkit and Shinekit!" He looked past Salmonkit and Fadingkit, who seemed to love arguing and agreeing on horrible ideas, to see Shinekit and Creekkit were awake as well.

"W-We can't be afraid if we w-want to be warriors!" Creekkit's nervousness caused him to stutter slightly.

"Your voice is shaking. Do you really want to go out?" Skykit pressed. He hoped that if he could get Creekkit to see sense, Salmonkit and Fadingkit would understand that this was a terrible, dangerous idea! Shinekit he was sure, didn't want to go along with this.

"Y-Yes I do!" Creekkit cried back. The tom-kit swallowed. "My voice isn't shaking! I really wanna go out! M-Maybe if we prove we can leave camp they'll make us apprentices sooner?"

Skykit hesitated. "B-But…" To his surprise, Shinekit was the one who stepped forward and placed a paw over his mouth. When she lifted it, she looked him dead in the eyes. The usually lazy she-kit's eyes were deadly serious.

"They're not going to change their minds. It'd be a pain explaining to the adults about if we knew they were going, why didn't we tell anyone. If you can't beat them, join 'em." Shinekit punctuated her statement with a shrug.

Skykit took a deep breath. "A-Alright. I'm in. When are we going?"

Fadingkit bumped shoulders with him. "When do you think, dum dum? Right now, obviously!"

"C'mon!" Salmonkit whispered called out from the nursery's entrance. When did she get over there? The more enthusiastic Fadingkit followed with excitement, with Creekkit following not far behind with only slightly more subdued excitement.

As Skykit poked his head outside, he could see that it was the middle of the night. He could see the hazy image of the moon hanging in the sky, obscured as always by clouds. In his short existence, he'd never seen the sky without clouds. Lilysnow said that Rainclan's founder, Dovestar, was a cat of great sadness with the clouds of emotion trailing behind her. When the first leader of Rainclan died, her spirit left behind an eternally cloudy sky so may the lessons passed down would never be forgotten or disregarded. Something about how so Rainclan would always remember sorrow and pain, so they may never grow cruel. Skykit didn't quite understand how being hurt helped you be nicer. Lilysnow had said that he'd understand when he was older.

It was a bit frustrating, and reminded him of how Salmonkit explained that adults never quite wanted to explain anything during his first day with his eyes open. Though, it seemed to frustrate the more fiery members of their little group than it did him. Fadingkit and Salmonkit both seemed to take it personally, as some sort of jab at their intelligence. Meanwhile, Creekkit seemed to be only somewhat frustrated like himself, while Shinekit didn't really seem to care. Then again, Skykit had yet to find anything that he could really say that Shinekit cared about.

"S-So… How are we getting out? There's always guards posted at the camp entrance…" Skykit questioned carefully.

"W-Well…" Creekkit slowly spoke up. "T-There's a little place where w-we can squeeze through behind the w-warrior's den…"

Fadingkit suddenly bounded forward, taking the lead for himself. "Let's hurry before anyone notices!" He whisper shouted.

With Fadingkit and Salmonkit both pushing to be at the front, with the less energetic members of their group trailing behind, they all managed to cram themselves behind the warrior's den and with some effort… Squeeze themselves through a small gap in the tree roots that surrounded the camp.

Skykit let out a yelp of surprise when he immediately fell into some water. Fortunately, all Rainclan kits learned how to swim early. He'd learned how to swim in a small section of river that was still considered inside the camp, under the supervision of Birchwhisper and Lilysnow.

His short legs paddled to keep him afloat and to carry him to the other side, and scramble onto land. He shivered, having been surprised by the sudden dunk into the water.

"Why didn't you say we were gonna land in water?" Skykit whined.

"I-I didn't know… I just knew the g-gap was big enough for us to s-squeeze through… I never a-actually went through…" Creekkit defended timidly.

"That's okay! We got out and now we can explore!" Salmonkit chirped, even as Fadingkit had opened his mouth, most certainly to chew out Creekkit. However, the amber-eyed kitten seemed to forget that he was angry as Salmonkit brought up the more optimistic side of the situation.

Shinekit meanwhile, groaned and complained under her breath about how much nicer a good nap would be.

Fadingkit was already running off, when Skykit turned his head to look. "W-Wait, Fadingkit!" He found his paws running after his adventurous brother. He could hear Salmonkit's affronted cries and Creekkit's stuttered calls coming from behind him, as well as Shinekit's softly uttered complaints. At least they were staying together.

Skykit squinted his eyes, as he could hardly see anything through the thick mist that permeated the territory. It got thicker the further they got away from camp. "How are we going to get back…?" He wondered out loud.

"W-Well… We'll figure something out!" Fadingkit called back over his shoulder.

Creekkit had been right, the territory was nearly impossible to navigate. It felt like they were running around blind. There were far too many exclaims of momentary pain, when Salmonkit stumbled, or Creekkit slipped. Unexpected tree roots seemed to materialize, tripping up the group. They found themselves coming across small streams, ones that they all too easily slipped into again. Skykit's teeth were chattering from falling into freezing water one time too many.

"I-I I really w-wanna g-go back…" Skykit's desires apparently weren't that important in the face of adventure.

He couldn't see his brother, but Fadingkit was entirely unsympathetic. "Don't be such a minnow! We're going to be going around like this when we're older, this is just an early start!"

Skykit sniffled, and he was about to curl up into a ball. When suddenly, he felt a pelt brush against his.

"They'll get tired soon and we can work on heading back then." Shinekit's voice was comforting. Despite her being the laziest, and it being a massive chore to convince her to play with the rest of them, she was the one who Skykit most appreciated the company of. She seemed the most mature out of them, even though Fadingkit, Salmonkit, and Creekkit dismissed her as simply the lazy one.

"T-Thanks…" Skykit murmured.

He really hoped they could all go back soon and not leave again, not until they were apprentices.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Skykit hadn't quite had to stretch himself this far before, his muscles burning from wandering around for too long. He was tired, he was cold, and now that he thought about it… That faint discomfort in his gut had to be hunger. His only comfort were occasional reassuring brushes from Shinekit, as the group moved around in the fog.

In full honesty? He regretted letting himself be persuaded to join this mess so easily. Maybe if he'd run and told Lilysnow, they'd all be safe and camp. He worried they'd all fall into a river and they wouldn't come back up.

Suddenly, Skykit bumped into someone, and judging by their voice it sounded like Creekkit. Apparently, they'd stopped talking.

Fadingkit's voice sounded a little uncertain as he spoke. "Er, the mist seems to be clearing up ahead. Maybe we're near the edge of the territory?" He didn't sound confident in what he was saying.

Skykit had previously found it hard to imagine that there was an end to the fog that blanketed Rainclan territory, that the clouds on earth didn't stretch out forever. However, now he was faced with proof as he stood presumably on the edge of Rainclan territory. He shivered, not because he was cold however. He didn't feel comfortable leaving Rainclan. Rainclan was home and… He was pretty sure no one was allowed to hurt kits, but still… It made him uneasy.

"Well, we've done a ton of exploring… We got all the way to the border… Why don't we go back?" His voice still sounded uncertain of himself. He half-expected to be ignored.

The mist had cleared up enough for him to make out Salmonkit. "We should check out the border! It seems cool! Then we can go back!" The surprisingly still chipper she-kit declared.

Shinekit and he let out loud sighs in unison. "Just keep dragging it out, why don't you…" The lazy she-kit murmured, as she dragged her paws after her more adventurous siblings.

Skykit tried not to drag his own paws, but he was so tired that he could still feel the tips of her paws grazing the ground anyways. He sighed and nodded his head slightly, following dutifully after his brother and friends. There wasn't anything else he do that he could see. At least he see a little better, at least when it came to where he was stepping. He was sure if he tripped now and fell to the ground, he wouldn't want to stand back up.

"Hey, who are you?!" Salmonkit's sharp voice rang out. Skykit lifted his head and after dragging his paws along the damp ground for another tail-length or two, he found Salmonkit yelling at two other kittens who were across the border.

Wait, what?

His eyes suddenly snapped into focus, even as his head throbbed from the effort when he was so wracked with fatigue. There was a tom-kit and a she-kit. The she-kit with black fur with light gray curling through his pelt like fog. He sniffed the air, and wrinkled up his nose. Gah, the scent coming off the two kits felt like it was collecting in his nostrils and hindering his ability to breathe! Their scent was so dry and honestly, he wanted to run away from the offending smell.

When he looked, Fadingkit, Salmonkit and her siblings all seemed to have similar reactions. Though, Skykit's brother seemed to be hiding his disgust less than the rest of them. He really hoped the amber-eyed tabby had enough tact to not call them smelly to their faces.

"Yuck! You guys all smell horrible! Did you roll in crowfood or something?!" Alas, Skykit's hopes of a polite brother were crushed underfoot. This day was one unpleasant thing after another, and he fully planned to wholeheartedly reject the next terrible plan of Fadingkit and Salmonkit's.

Skykit sighed and stepped forward, placing a forepaw over Fadingkit's mouth. "I'm… Sorry about him. He doesn't know what not to say." He tiredly apologized for his amber-eyed brother.

Skykit carefully gauged the two foreign kitten's reactions. The she-kit had seem initially affronted, judging by how she turned her nose up at the Rainclan kittens. The tom-kit had flattened his ears, so he probably took offense as well. They both seemed slightly appeased by Skykit's apology.

Suddenly the golden tom-kit yanked his paw back, feeling pain shoot through his paw. "Ow!"

Fadingkit had bit him! The two brothers shared hurt looks, for different reasons. Skykit guessed the amber-eyed brother had been hurt by his attempts to cover up his rudeness. He personally was upset because his brother bit him! That had hurt!

Suddenly, Creekkit shoved the two brothers to the side as he came up between them and gave an awkward smile. "H-Hi…!" He swallowed. "I'm Creekkit!" He said shyly, though he managed to remove the stuttering from his words. "These are my siblings…" He gestured with a forepaw to Salmonkit and Shinekit behind him. "And these are my friends." He gestured, pointing to one brother and then to the other with a forepaw. Then his eyes returned to the kittens across the border. "We're from Rainclan. What about you guys?"

The foreign kittens exchanged a look. The tom-kit then grinned and began to speak. "I'm Bonekit. This is my friend Coalkit. We come from Nightclan. Pretty cool we snuck out of our camps around the same time, so we could talk like this right?" Skykit thought he sounded pretty confident.

He wasn't sure Coalkit and Bonekit saw, but the slight twitch downwards of Creekkit's ears told him that the patched tom-kit's confidence had taken a slight blow. The Nightclan kits weren't much older than them, yet sounded more sure of themselves.

"So…" Coalkit began to speak up. "You're all from Rainclan?" She laughed. "Man, Rottingface was right! Rainclanners are total wimps!"

Skykit wasn't looking at the faces of the other Rainclan kittens… But he could guess that they all wore expressions with varying degrees of hurt. Was this really what other clans thought of Rainclan? More than once, the entire friend group had ended up in the elder's den, listening to Shadowsnake's stories of Rainclan's past. He always made it sound like Rainclan was great, strong because of the cats who embodied the clan's values in the purest sense, that simply upholding the ideals of Rainclan made a warrior powerful in ways that couldn't be made sense of by clans outside their clan.

It was hard to believe those prideful stories when a pair of kits were practically laughing at them. Skykit chanced a look at his brother, and was shocked by his fur practically standing on end, bristling in anger. His golden tail rested on Fadingkit's shoulder. He leaned to whisper in his brother's ear.

"Don't let it get to you. Let's just go." He whispered.

Fadingkit's head whipped to the side as he softly hissed a reply back. "I can't let this go! They're insulting our clan!"

"They're just saying stuff. They don't know anything about our clan." Skykit found that attempting to talk down his brother was harder than anticipated. "Please. Let's go home. I really want to go home." He let his voice raised into a gentle whine, pleading with Fadingkit.

Fadingkit sighed and turned around, beginning to pad back into the fog.

Skykit sighed as well, following his brother into the fog. He looked back once over his shoulder. During the brief whispered exchange between him and his brother, Salmonkit had gotten to arguing with the Nightclan kits. Though, she quickly caught on that they were leaving and with one last remark, dashed off to follow the brothers who retreated into the fog. Creekkit and Shinekit followed not far behind.

He dragged his paws one after the other, he could even feel his tail dragging along the ground. He could feel his eyelids grow heavy. He'd been able to summon enough energy to deal with the situation with the Nightclan kits, but now he wasn't sure he could go on. Especially with the knowledge that none of them knew how to get back to camp.

He barely registered his name being called out by an uncertain voice.

His will to keep moving left his legs, and he suddenly felt himself falling. His pelt hit the cool ground and he see line of sight enclosing as he closed his eyes. The last thing he saw was a spark of amber.

Then, he fell into darkness.

Skykit's eyes shot open and he propped the upper part of his body up with his forepaws. Feeling disorientated, unfamiliar and powerful scents hitting his nose, he looked around frantically. Where was he? What was the last thing he did?

Squinting down at the ground underneath him, he could see he was laying in a nest. What had he been doing…? No wait, he remembered now. He'd blacked out. He'd fallen unconscious after meeting those Nightclan kits, and now he was… Where was he?

"Good. You're awake." Came a voice from behind him, that sounded decidedly unamused.

He moved his body to see the owner of the voice. A she-cat who… Sounded like an adult but she looked kinda… Small. Her pelt had a highly contrasting tabby pattern, alternating between black and white. "Where am I?" He asked softly.

"My den. The medicine cat's den. I'm Minnowheart, by the way. Thanks for asking." The sarcastic, annoyed remark caught Skykit off guard and he flinched.

"S-Sorry… So, what am I doing here? Am I sick?" Skykit knew he wasn't injured… He would've remembered having gotten injured.

"No." Minnowheart snorted, as she moved around, ruffling through what Skykit assumed were his herbs. "You've just got a paranoid mother who won't take you back until I've checked you over properly."

He looked around, and took a better look at the medicine den. It was near the base of a large tree, in between two huge roots. Underneath the roots, he could see space had been dug out where Minnowheart was reaching into. He guessed that's where the herbs were stored. There were leaves above, he figured were shielding the den from rain and heavy downpour from destroying the herbs.

The female medicine cat raised herself up to her normal height, and eyed Skykit. Suddenly, the tom-kit felt uncomfortable, as if he were being tested somehow. "E-Erm… So, how did I get here…?" He asked, feeling himself wilt a little under Minnowheart's intense gaze. She wasn't glaring at him, but that somehow didn't make him feel any better.

"You kids got lucky. After you passed out, a patrol ran into you. Good thing we sent patrols out at night." She snorted. "Your friends aren't here. I took a brief look over them when they came in, and sent them back to the nursery. I gave your friends a firm talking to, and now it's your turn." She said, with a glint in her eye that somehow made Skykit even more uncomfortable.

Her gaze suddenly turned stern. "I got the story from your friends. I know you were one of the reluctant ones, but you still should've gotten a warrior if you knew your friends were going to sneak out of camp. Letting yourself get bullied into joining them was foolish."

Skykit sighed, his ears flattening. "I know…"

Minnowheart snorted and turned around. "No you don't. Just saying you know, doesn't mean you really know. Next time kid, have more of a backbone. You've got more sense than your brother. Don't waste it on following him everywhere. Anyways kid, you're free to go. There's nothing wrong with you, except with your spine." The medicine cat walked past Skykit, reaching down into some herbs he couldn't see in the far back.

Feeling ever so slightly awkward, he reached one paw after the other out of the nest, and dashed out of the den. He burst into the camp, and made a bee line for the nursery, almost tripping over his feet in his haste.

As soon as he came into the nursery, he looked around for Fadingkit. Though, he didn't have to look far as his brother almost ran him over, immediately rubbing his pelt along Skykit's. "Are you okay?! You should've said you were super tired! I totally could've carried you! Well, maybe not but Salmonkit could've helped!" He rambled, and Skykit couldn't help the soft smile on his lips. He'd been a tiny bit worried, but Fadingkit clearly didn't completely disregard how Skykit felt.

"Mm! I wanna disagree, but I'm not so mean to not help a friend!" Whined Salmonkit from behind, as she and her siblings joined the brothers.

"I-I'm glad you're okay!" Creekkit said with an awkward smile.

"Shame you didn't get to see your Dad." Shinekit murmured with a yawn.

Skykit blinked. "What?" Had Lightningfang been part of that patrol Minnowheart mentioned that found them?

Fadingkit scowled. "Yeah. Dad was there… But he hardly said a word to me! I mean, it's understandable for you, because you were unconscious… But he practically ignored I existed!" He complained. "I'm not just some dumb kit, y'know! He only talked to Salmonkit!"

Skykit blinked again. That… Sounded pretty weird. Why didn't he wanted to talk to his son? Maybe he'd been mad at them for sneaking out, and then didn't say anything.

Shinekit yawned. "I'm tired. I'm going to go take a nap." She murmured, turning around, presumably to go back to her nest.

"What?! You're always napping!" Salmonkit complained.

"We're all confined to the nursery for two days, so might as well nap." Shinekit reasoned quietly, as she stepped into her nest and began making herself comfortable.

Skykit looked at Fadingkit questioningly. His brother wore a sheepish smile. "Er, yeah. The adults are pretty mad at us for going so far away. So… We can't leave the nursery for two days. At least it's only two…?"

Skykit gently shook his head and began walking to his own nest.

"Where are you going?!" Cried his amber-eyed brother.

"Sleep." Skykit muttered.

"C'mon, why are you two so lame?!" Salmonkit whined.

Skykit didn't respond as he crawled into his nest and curled up. Well, not his nest really. More like the nest he shared with Fadingkit against Birchwhisper's wishes. He didn't say a word as he felt Fadingkit joined him as well, with Salmonkit and Creekkit's chorus of complaining in the background.

"I'm glad you're still with us." Fadingkit purred softly.

As Skykit drifted off into darkness, he could've sworn he'd heard one last thing come from Fadingkit's lips…

"I need your help to prove Rainclan's better than they think…"

Perhaps he was simply imagining it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Minnowheart had said he wasn't sick. Skykit had apparently been in fine health the morning after their little… Excursion out of camp. Yet, here he was, back in the medicine cat's den three sunrises after that morning he woke in the generally unamused medicine cat's den. His throat hurt and he kept coughing, his throat getting itchy and only being relieved for a moment when he gave into the urge to cough. His nose was running as well, and it was really gross when he tried to wipe it off with a paw!

His attempts at complaining were only met with faintly amused chuckling from the small, hazel-eyed medicine cat. Skykit thought that medicine cats were supposed to be nice and sympathetic. That's what Lilysnow made it sounded like! Instead, Rainclan's medicine cat was the type to sass you while you were down and helpless. When he'd asked why, he'd gotten a snort with his answer.

"After you deal with enough cranky, ungrateful injured and sick warriors… You lose your tolerance for foolish behavior." Had been Minnowheart's only response.

Skykit groaned, and sniffed strongly, trying to suck the gross stuff back into his nose. He didn't want it getting in the nest, having no interest in being forced to lay in the grossness all day. He didn't even get to see his friends, since Minnowheart forced him to stay in the nest all day. Out of his friends, he'd been the only one who hadn't been punished. Birchwhisper had for some reason commended his reluctance to go outside camp, despite the fact he'd gone anyways. Lilysnow hadn't agreed but… Lilysnow wasn't his mother and Birchwhisper had the final say. So, Lilysnow confined all three of her kits to the nursery, and Birchwhisper did the same to Fadingkit.

So, Skykit was all alone in the medicine cat's den, stuck with Minnowheart shoving honey down his throat, claiming that it would soothe his sore throat. The tom-kit tried to ask if he could some herbs to simply cure his cold. Apparently the only thing Minnowheart could do was keep an eye on Skykit, as the cold would apparently go away in a few days on its own. Skykit sighed.

"Do I really have to stay in here?" Skykit couldn't help the whining in his voice. It was so boring sitting here all day! He wasn't really sure how to approach trying to talk to Minnowheart about something… Normal. The she-cat seemed so busy all of the time, and the way she said things made it feel like she wouldn't appreciate a nice chat or anything. With talking to Minnowheart crossed off the list of things to do, there was literally nothing else to do than sit in the nest and moan over his cold as he was left alone with his thoughts. It wasn't… It kind of sucked, actually.

Minnowheart glanced over to him, and Skykit briefly wondered if the black and white tabby was going to say something along the lines of 'What do you think brat?' all while breaking her record for shoving as much sarcasm as she could in relatively few words.

To his surprise, the she-cat simply shrugged. "Eh. Your cold should clear up in a few days, and it's at the most inconvenient and gross. Go run around and trip every other warrior, if you'd like to free me from dealing with you."

Skykit wondered if it was physically possible for Minnowheart to be nice to a patient.

Regardless, he scrambled out of his nest, sniffling loudly again as he ran out. He made a bee line for the nursery, where it was tunneled out from underneath some tree roots. Since his friends and brother were all grounded, they were going to be in the nursery.

As he passed through the entrance, he suddenly found himself on the ground, tackled and pinned to the ground by a pair of familiar amber eyes.

"Hey! You got out of the medicine cat's den again! Did you sneak out?!" Chattered Fadingkit excitedly, though he sounded a tiny bit worried as well.

Skykit chuckled lightly, though he felt nervous at being tackled and then interrogated. It made him a tiny bit uncomfortable, his brother being a bit too intense. "Er, no. Minnowheart let me go." He explained.

"Phew." Fadingkit let out a sigh of relief, as he leaned back to sit on his rump. "You shouldn't sneak out!" He scolded.

Skykit couldn't help but stare at his brother, trying to convey as much incredulity as he could into his stare.

Fadingkit seemed to be suppressing giggling. "I get the feeling you're trying to be serious… But you look like you really gotta go!"

Skykit sighed. "Where are Shinekit, Salmonkit, and Creekkit?" He asked.

Fadingkit turned his head and Skykit followed his line of sight. "Oh. Shinekit is taking a nap like usual. Salmonkit and Creekkit are whispering in a corner. I hope it's not another idea that's gonna get us grounded again! I think maybe you had a point with sticking a bit closer to the rules!" He chirped.

Skykit didn't really think aversion to punishment was the point… But he guessed whatever helped his brother stay out of trouble.

Fadingkit nudged the golden tom-kit's shoulder. "C'mon! Let's go in a corner of our own! I wanna tell you something super important!" He squeaked, practically pushing his brother against his will into an opposite corner of the nursery.

"H-Hey! I can get there on my own!" Skykit protested, but they were already there.

"So! I decided! I'm gonna be leader one day!" Fadingkit suddenly said out of the blue.

Skykit blinked. "Er, you've mentioned that before. So has Salmonkit. Even Creekkit thought it'd be cool to be leader." Personally, he wasn't sure being leader sounded all that fun. Luckily, Shinekit agreed with him so he wasn't alone in his opinion.

Fadingkit huffed. "You don't get it! I'm completely serious! I'm gonna do all that stuff to be leader one day! I've gotta be an apprentice first, and become a super awesome warrior! Then I gotta show the clan how cool I am and train an apprentice! Then I'll totally be next in line to be named deputy if something happens to Dad or Flashstar dies and Dad becomes leader!" He rambled, detailing a fairly straightforward plan to becoming leader. Suddenly, he folded his ears back and looked away. "... You can't tell anyone I'm serious about this! I don't wanna hear it from Mom how I'd never be leader… That'd you'd make a better leader than I ever could." He grumbled.

Skykit felt a flash at panic, worrying about his brother's possible budding jealousy. He had no interest in being leader, but he wasn't sure how to soundly prove it since his words apparently couldn't quell his brother's fears of being outdone. He was willing to support Fadingkit's apparently serious dream, and keep the secret. He knew as well as his amber-eyed brother that Birchwhisper would never be supportive, neither would Lightningfang. Their father apparently wanted nothing to do with the either of them, so he was out. Birchwhisper… She…

Skykit was kind of bad at figuring stuff out, but he could see it as plain as day who Birchwhisper loved and whom she almost hated. He was hesitant to say their mother hated Fadingkit. Time and time again, their mother praised Skykit while either ignoring or being mean to his brother. Always singing praises about Skykit's common sense and spitting venom about Fadingkit's terrible ideas and tendency to drag his brother into trouble, to bring Skykit down.

Which, allowed Skykit to understand why Birchwhisper could never find out.

But he worried about the clan. Would Flashstar or Lightningfang like Fadingkit enough to name him deputy one day? If their own mother favored him over Fadingkit, maybe the clan would follow after her.

Skykit didn't want to do anything too terrible, but he realized he had to take himself out of the running for deputyship and later leadership, even if this was really, really far in advance.

Suddenly, he had an idea. Medicine cats weren't candidates for leadership! It was a great plan. He had no prior interest of becoming a medicine cat, but… He guessed Minnowheart was cool, and herbs were too. He didn't mind the idea of not doing much fighting, either. Taking care of others sounded… Nice, actually.

"Er, well… I think you'll be leader one day and I can totally support you! I can be your medicine cat!" Skykit chirped.

Fadingkit suddenly stared at him like Skykit had sprouted wings or something. "What? Where'd that come from? You've never said anything about wanting to be a medicine cat, like ever!"

Skykit scrambled for a good explanation. "O-Oh! W-Well… While I was in the medicine cat's den… I realized it was pretty cool! I hadn't said anything before because it was pretty new, and I wanted to keep it a secret too. I think Mom would like me to be a warrior, but I don't think I'm cut out for it!" He said, growing more confident in his words as he spoke. He wondered if this counted as lying.

Fadingkit blinked. Then he grinned. "Sure! We'll be the best leader and medicine cat this clan has ever seen!"

Skykit did his best to smile for his brother. "Hey, I can come back later. I'm gonna… I'm gonna go see Minnowheart! I'm probably going to see Minnowheart a lot, so I can convince him I'd make a great medicine cat apprentice." He said, standing up.

Fadingkit nodded furiously. "Sounds like a great plan! Don't let your dreams just be dreams!" He waved to Skykit, as the golden tom-kit left the nursery without looking back, for fear that his brother would realize he wasn't entirely honest about becoming a medicine cat being his dream.

He took a deep breath as he returned to the medicine cat's den. He put on a grin and cleared his admittedly scratchy throat.

"H-Hey! I wanted to know what is it about honey that makes my throat less itchy!"

He'd be taking this one step at a time… But he'd definitely become Minnowheart's apprentice when he was old enough.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Skykit ducked away from his mother's tongue. "I gotta go!" He said hurriedly, trying to leave the nursery quickly before his mother could catch him. This had become a habit in the mornings since he'd resolved to become Minnowheart's apprentice a half-moon ago. He kept having to dodge Birchwhisper's attempts to keep him away from the medicine cat's den, or slowly encourage him towards more… Warrior-like things. She always said things like,

" _You'll make a great warrior and leader one day."_

" _You should try hunting some leaves you can see, at this rate you may be behind the other kits."_

" _You shouldn't be afraid of a little play fighting. It can teach you for the future."_

" _There's nothing Minnowheart can show you that you want."_

That was nothing compared to the things Skykit heard her hissing into Fadingkit's ear, that she clearly thought he couldn't hear.

" _Forcing your brother away from your destiny… How disgusting."_

" _You're fated to become a barely useful asset to the clan… Only good enough to put prey in our mouths."_

" _How dare you whisper lies and corrupt your brother."_

Skykit had tried at first to defend Fadingkit. He was always brushed aside, and the spitting hatred aimed at his brother always got worse for the rest of the day. So, he learned to wait and comfort Fadingkit when Birchwhisper wasn't looking. He didn't know what else to do. Fadingkit seemed to appreciate his attempts to help, even if it didn't seem to amount to much.

He was glad that Fadingkit continued to support his endeavors to become a medicine cat apprentice, sometimes distracting Birchwhisper so Skykit could slip out to Minnowheart's den. The first couple times, Birchwhisper came to try and remove him… But thankfully, Minnowheart always made her go away. He still remembered the female medicine cat's words.

" _I have no problem with the squirt hanging around. Who knows, maybe he'll learn something useful from me. Now, shoo. Don't you have another son to look after?"_

Birchwhisper could never go against Minnowheart much. Skykit suspected the volume that the black and white she-cat used had a lot to do with it. The biased queen didn't seem to want to go against one of the most respected and feared cat in the clan. He'd learned from Honeypaw that for some reason most of the clan, including Flashstar, were notoriously bad about going to Minnowheart if they needed medical attention. A tom with warm brown eyes had gotten himself injured while hunting, and Minnowheart had dragged him into her den by the ear. By the way the hazel-eyed she-cat had been grumbling, it sounded like this was a fairly common occurrence, that she had to quite literally go out and hunt down her patients to treat them. If that didn't happen, sometimes a friend would force them into Minnowheart's den. Despite the strong aversion to her den, according to Honeypaw, everyone in the clan respected Minnowheart and tended to trust her almost implicitly.

Which, explained to Skykit why Birchwhisper was so hesitant to get into a shouting match over his newfound habits. So, all he had to do was get to Minnowheart's den and he was free to spend time with the female medicine cat.

The first day he'd come in, she'd seemed slightly surprised. Though, it quickly wore off and she didn't mind him staying around. She never asked him why he came back day after day, and after the first quarter moon, she'd stopped being even the slightest bit surprised from what Skykit could see.

"You got here fast, kid." Minnowheart commented off-handedly, from where he could see her sniffing the herbs she had stored.

Skykit took a few steps forward. "Are you checking if anything's gone stale?" He asked, feeling much more confident in talking to Minnowheart than when he'd first gotten a cold in the hazel-eyed she-cat's den. The first day, he'd tried to talk but always second guessed himself. Instead, Minnowheart took the initiative and coaxed his half of the conversation out him day after day. The coaxing took less and less time as the sunrises passed, until Skykit was now more or less comfortable with the medicine cat's sharp tongue. He'd learned that it wasn't him, she simply didn't have much patience after dragging many warriors too many into her den against their will.

"Right on that, kiddo." Minnowheart withdrew and looked towards him. Then she got a mischievous smile on her face. "I ever tell you about that time I had to drag Flashstar in here?" She asked, with mirth glittering in her eyes.

Minnowheart didn't tell him much about herbs, saying that was more of an activity to be shared between her future apprentice. Skykit never actually said he wanted to be her apprentice in the future, and she'd never asked… But… He always felt like the adults of Rainclan could see through him, like he was transparent. So, he didn't think he'd be too surprised if Minnowheart knew what he wanted anyways. So, instead… She told him a lot of stories. He was surprised by how problematic the warriors sounded like. They sounded more like bratty kits his age rather than the esteemed protectors and providers for the clan.

Minnowheart claimed the various warriors of the clan tended to hit their head on the riverbanks or river bottoms while learning to swim in stronger currents, which was part of apprentice training, which stunted their mental growth and caused them to lose brain cells that contained common sense.

Skykit had giggled when she first told him that. He understood by now that Minnowheart had a uniquely, usually insulting, but amazing nonetheless sense of humor.

Her treasure trove of stories seemed endless. Sometimes she gave him little lessons and advised him on life. Like, she told him to never forget that he always had the clan, his family, and his friends. To never let his head get so big that he thought he could do things on his own.

Minnowheart had seemed scary at first… But Skykit thought she was pretty nice to keep helping the clan, no matter how difficult and frustrating they could be sometimes. Apparently, once she'd had to get a warrior who'd been desperate enough to climb a tree to escape her. Of course, he'd slipped and fell… Given that Rainclan cats didn't really climb anything at all. He'd gotten hurt and warranted further treatment, and a longer stay in Minnowheart's den.

She'd assured Skykit she'd spent a long time setting him straight.

Skykit had internally promised himself to never avoid Minnowheart's den if he was hurt or sick, even if herbs were kinda gross and her den smelled pretty strong.

His original reasons for spending so much time with Minnowheart were based around Fadingkit and his dreams… But now? He was pretty sure he genuinely wanted to be Minnowheart's apprentice, and learn from her. He believed he could be a wonderful member of Rainclan as its future medicine cat, instead of a future warrior.

The day passed, as Minnowheart told him stories, and occasionally answered a burning question about the way life worked from time to time. Sometimes confirming or denying something Faithpaw or Honeypaw told him.

He didn't spend all day with Minnowheart, taking time around sun-high to eat and talk a little with his friends and brother. He always liked checking with Fadingkit, getting how his morning went, and talking with Shinekit and her calming presence. Salmonkit was a bit upset at how he spent less time with them, but she was overall understanding of his desire to become a medicine cat some day in the future. It was always nice to get to know Creekkit better, and to see his stutter slowly fade from his voice. He left Minnowheart for the day as the sun set, eating a second meal of the day and sometimes talking to the apprentices of the clan.

He tried to minimize his contact with Birchwhisper. It wasn't always quite successful… But it was nice not having to listen to her all day. Even if he was always leaving Fadingkit to deal with her.

His brother assured him that as long as he stuck close to Lilysnow and her kittens… It wasn't so bad most of the time.

Skykit itched for the day they would become apprentices and didn't have to sleep so close to Birchwhisper.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As moons passed Skykit by, he knew he could be confident in his future as Minnowheart's apprentice. As his fourth moon passed him by, he'd spotted Minnowheart speaking with a white tom who possessed shining yellow eyes. The female medicine cat had pointed him out as Flashstar in the past, and while it was true he couldn't say for sure what they'd been talking about… He thought there was a strong chance that Minnowheart had said she wanted to take him on as apprentice. Thus, he wouldn't need a warrior mentor.

He'd told Fadingkit his suspicions, and he had jumped for joy at the apparent confirmation that the brother's plans were progressing smoothly.

Since Skykit hadn't felt comfortable or thought it would be feasible to hide their plans from their denmates, they had shared their plan with Shinekit, Salmonkit, and Creekkit.

Shinekit understood the most, and expressed envy that she hadn't thought of becoming a medicine cat apprentice. The envy sounded fake though, and Skykit got the feeling it was because that the main priority of the medicine cat didn't involve battling and hunting… Both which were extensive physical activities.

Salmonkit had thought that Skykit picked the lamest plan ever, and expressed a desire to become Fadingkit's rival for the future position of leader. Skykit and Shinekit had fled from the following argument that had ensued.

Creekkit seemed to simply respect their decisions. He was non-confrontational like that and all. Plus, Skykit got the feeling he was wrapped up in his simple desire to become a clan member that his parents could be proud of.

Nowadays, all Fadingkit wanted to talk about was their impending apprenticeship. Actually, that was all any of Skykit's denmates wanted to talk about. Even if Shinekit's contributions seemed to compose of mainly complaints about the incoming work, and less time for naps and downtime.

It had gotten worse after Faithpaw and Honeypaw had gotten their warrior names. They were called Faithwhisper and Honeyspark now, which started up _another_ topic of what their warrior names might be. Mostly it was Fadingkit and Salmonkit naming everyone, with Creekkit occasionally pitching in with a name here and there.

Skykit almost wondered if they thought that somehow, talking about it would make their apprentice ceremonies come sooner.

He'd complained exactly once to Minnowheart who simply snorted and told him it was the foolishness of youth acting up. He wondered if the hazel-eyed she-cat noticed Skykit was same exact age, and he wasn't acting like that. However, he wasn't too keen to challenge the medicine cat's sharp tongue deliberately.

He was laying across the width of the tree root that shielded Minnowheart's precious herbs, as he peered over at the female medicine cat rummaging around in her herb stores. He suddenly lifted his head at a call that rang out.

"Let all cats old enough to fish gather underneath the Tall Root!"

Casting a quick glance, Skykit saw that Minnowheart had stood up to her full height as well. Then the white and black tabby gave him a slightly knowing smile. "C'mon, brat. Let's go see what Flashstar requires of the clan." He was trying to scramble down over the side of the tree root, but instead of tumbling and falling… He found himself held by the scruff by the medicine cat. He huffed.

"I don't get how you don't think I'm heavy…" He mumbled, as he was let down… Not so gently. He grunted softly as he hit the ground, shaking the dust off his pelt as he stood up.

Minnowheart snorted. "You're a barely apprentice-aged kit. I've had to haul full-grown unconscious, soaking wet cats into my den before. You don't even compare."

Skykit followed Minnowheart out into the clearing. The tall root that Flashstar spoke of, was a large thick root, that rested upon a similar one. From there you could see most of the camp. Underneath both, was Flashstar's den, he knew.

The white-furred leader was perched proudly on top of the Tall Root, waiting for the clan to gather. Skykit stuck close to Minnowheart's side, deliberately avoiding Birchwhisper's gaze. The medicine cat, fortunately, kept his mother away with a fierce glare. He was glad Minnowheart was so cool and scary. Especially for the second part.

He could spot his friends all being wrangled by Lilysnow and her mate Waterfang, all being subjected to cleaning tongues. The more difficult and bath-resistant kittens were taken first, while ever obedient Creekkit was standing by.

"Hey bro!" A voice suddenly chirped loudly in his ear. Skykit was startled and his head snapped to the side, to see Fadingkit. Who was grinning like a maniac who hadn't scared his brother half to death. He even had a golden paw placed over his heart.

"D-Don't do that!" He scolded, his voice still shaking slightly from the startling.

Fadingkit stuck his tongue out at Skykit who was able to call him out on his childishness, when he was suddenly yanked back and he felt a rough tongue brushing against his head. He squinted upwards to see… Minnowheart was the one giving him a bath?!

Fadingkit seemed to have been shocked into silence, and was merely staring at the spectacle of Rainclan's medicine cat acting like a queen who was preparing her kit for presentation to the clan.

"Shush, brat. Don't go introducing yourself looking like you just crawled out of a filthy river."

Skykit, himself was frozen and had no idea how to deal with this?! This was completely surreal. Before he knew it, Minnowheart seemed content. Then she proceeded to _do the same thing to Fadingkit_.

His brother let out a cry of protest, as the golden tom-kit's jaw fell open and started that why.

"B-Buh… W-Why….?" Was it even possible to make sense of this situation? Skykit swore he'd fallen into some kind of weird reality where Minnowheart was a sickeningly sweet and not-Minnowheart queen, stuck in the nursery.

"I ask Skykit, Fadingkit, Salmonkit, Shinekit, and Creekkit to stand before me."

"Try not to stutter too much, brat." Minnowheart teased softly, as she shoved Skykit and Fadingkit forward.

Skykit didn't remember asking his legs to move, yet here he was looking up at where Flashstar gave announcements from his high perch.

He swallowed.

"Skykit. Fadingkit. Salmonkit. Shinekit. Creekkit." The white-furred leader addressed each of them in turn. Skykit felt an urge to straighten his posture when his name was called. "Each one of you have reached six moons of age, and you all understand what it means to be a part of our clan. From this day on, you will learn what it means to give back to the clan that has raised you thus far."

He suddenly focused all his attention on Skykit, and he suddenly felt very small. Flashstar was a different kind of scary from Minnowheart! His eyes just seemed so… Intense, rather than the light mirth that danced in the medicine cat's hazel pools.

"Skykit. From this day on, until you receive your true name, you shall be known as Skypaw. You will be treading an honored, yet different path from the rest of your generation. Minnowheart shall be your mentor, and you shall train in the ways of the medicine cat."

He let out a small sigh of relief. It was… Weird, to have his name be Skypaw now, after having been Skykit his whole life. But, this wasn't his last name change. He guessed the best way to deal with this was to think of himself as Skypaw. Skypaw! He was Skypaw.

He hoped it worked.

"Fadingkit. From this day on, until you receive your true name, you shall be known as Fadingpaw." Flashstar's gaze turned to a warrior with gray, speckled fur. He seemed kind of… Grumpy, at least from where Skypaw could see him. He worried a little for the relationship they might form, since he wasn't sure Fadingkit… Well, Fadingpaw now… Wouldn't be badgering the warrior about his frowning. "Sootspeck. You have many apprentices in the past, and I am sure you can show Fadingpaw the ways of the warrior practiced in Rainclan."

The tom, Sootspeck, merely inclined his head. "I will do my best, Flashstar." He even sounded tired. Skypaw's worry escalated as he watched his brother practically bounce over to his new mentor, even bouncing up to touch noses with Sootspeck, before the warrior could bend down to make it easier. He let out a sigh of relief, when Sootspeck gently turned Fadingpaw back around, who'd seemed to have forgotten that the rest of their friends still needed to have their ceremonies as well.

"Salmonkit. From this day on, until you receive your true name, you shall be known as Salmonpaw." This time, Flashstar's eyes landed upon a white she-cat with a softly patterened pelt, that Skypaw recalled Faithwhisper pointing out as the gentle then-apprentice's mother. "Snowyash, you understand the value of patience and compassion. I am sure you can impart these important ideals upon Salmonpaw."

Snowyash, too, inclined her head. "I thank you for your faith in me." Her voice was soft and light, reminding Skypaw of falling feathers. Especially the soft ones you couldn't see too well on birds that first glance.

Salmonpaw seemed to be containing herself better than Fadingpaw had, but the energy rippling through her was obvious as she touched noses with her new mentor for the first time.

Skypaw hoped a cat who'd mothered sweet and kind Faithwhisper could teach Salmonpaw some restraint, and some calm.

"Creekkit. From this day on, until you receive your true name, you shall be known as Creekpaw." The yellow-eyed leader's eyes fixed upon a familiar face this time. Skypaw managed to hide most of his surprise, his eyes widening only a smidgeon. "Faithwhisper. You are a new warrior, however, I believe you are best suited to guide Creekpaw nonetheless. Your kindness and level head will serve you well, in your days as Creekpaw's mentor."

Faithwhisper seemed as surprised as Creekpaw did, Skypaw saw. They both were staring at each other, both a bit non-believing that this was the path that Flashstar chose to take. Nudged respectively by Honeyspark and Salmonpaw, they still managed to touch noses without drawing too much attention to themselves.

"Shinekit." Skypaw really hoped that wasn't Flashstar's eye twitching when Shinekit _yawned_ in the middle of _her own ceremony_. He thought Shinekit at the least would know not to do that! "From this day on, until you receive your true name, you shall be known as Shinepaw." Flashstar looked to a ginger she-cat with warm eyes this time. Suddenly Skypaw thought of an adult, more collected Salmonpaw. "Morningglow. You understand hard work. I hope you can instill motivation within your new apprentice."

Skypaw wanted to hide Shinepaw from the clan, this was so incredibly embarrassing! Even if he wasn't being directly affected, he felt the second-hand embarrassment! Instead, Shinepaw stood there, looking as if she was contemplating picking her nose or not.

Morningglow smiled eerily. "Oh, I'm sure I can go above and beyond, Flashstar." That was one of the scariest promises Skypaw had ever heard in his life and he wanted to leave. _Now_.

He felt a weight on his shoulder, and he looked over his shoulder to see Minnowheart smiling down at him. This was not a warm smile. No, this was a smile that told him it was taking every ounce of the medicine cat's willpower to not start laughing at him without remorse for the next hour or so.

Was it possible to die of mortification? Skypaw was starting to think so.

Maybe if he prayed really, really hard to Starclan, no one would remember anything tomorrow.

"C'mon, brat. We've got work to do before the day is out!" Minnowheart sounded a little too gleeful, honestly. It was scaring him.

"E-Er… Do you mean learning the basics…?" Skypaw asked tentatively.

"Hell no! You haven't got a nest, and unless you want to sleep on the ground, you're going to go out and get the materials to make your nest. With your own paws."

Skypaw was starting to regret his life decision to become Minnowheart's apprentice. "A-Alone?"

"Nah. I'm not that mean. I'll make sure you don't get lost or drown." How was it that such a promise sounded like the least reassuring statement Skypaw had ever heard?

He couldn't help whimpering, as Minnowheart swapped between yanking her apprentice by the ears, or shoving him out of camp.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Skypaw had learned several things about Minnowheart during his first quarter moon of being her apprentice:

One, Minnowheart was the type who saw no problems in bending certain rules. As the weather began to slowly cool, giving way to a season known as Leaf-bare, she had shown him a nice place for back-up herbs. Skypaw did not agree that it was a nice place, however he was dragged nonetheless into sneaking into Twolegplace and Twoleg dens to steal herbs that somehow grew inside. Twolegs seemed to create small objects that trapped dirt and allowed herbs to grow anyway. His mentor insisted that as long as you didn't steal too much from a single Twoleg nest, it was perfectly fine.

Skypaw and Minnowheart had gotten chased by a dog that had gotten free from its restraints at the worst possible moment. Which led to his next issue:

Minnowheart seemed to have a warped sense of reality. She seemed to think that these risks were acceptable in the name of the greater good, to obtain herbs for her stores through the harsh Leaf-bare. Further, she seemed insistent on pushing the golden-furred apprentice way past when he was ready to take what he was sure counted as a well-deserved break. Such as when he was already tired and about to collapse, she pushed him into the nearest body of water with sadistic glee, claiming he needed to get all his swimming practice in before the water froze over. Whatever that meant.

So, every day for his first quarter moon of training, he came back home soaking wet, exhausted, suffering the after-effects of the day's four to seven heart attacks. He wondered if this was some sort of training for dealing with stressful situations, to make sure he'd be used to the craziness of life when dealing with Minnowheart beyond the need for her medical skills.

Regardless, his absurd training schedule and ridiculous content of said training left him far too tired to talk to anyone. He always dragged his feet towards camp, straight to his bed and collapsed. He only emerged to eat, and he was pretty sure Salmonpaw and Fadingpaw were concerned… However, their loud voices only served to sap his energy even more, encouraging him to groan and slump into whatever piece of fresh-kill he's been eating. He suspected Shinepaw reined them in her own way, while he took the opportunity to retreat.

When he woke up on the morning of eighth day of being Minnowheart's apprentice, he woke up to her looking a tiny bit sheepish. Which was a weird-looking expression on the usually unapologetic medicine cat who was sorry for nothing, because she always knew best because she was a medicine cat. Even if that wasn't really a reason.

"So… I've never trained a kid before. It's been brought to my attention… That I might've been working you a bit too hard. I'll loosen up on you, so maybe your social life doesn't go to the rats."

This was the exact opposite Skypaw had expected from this morning. He'd been expected to have his face shoved into Minnowheart's herb stores, to memorize sights and scents, and then marched through a river or five to go and find the herbs out in the territory. Loosen up did not sound very specific, and Skypaw feared it only meant she'd stick to three rivers or something. He supposed he should count his blessings and thank the stars that she didn't decide she was hard _enough_ on him and decided to ask his friends to ambush him at every turn for something ridiculous like paranoia training.

…. Though, one thing that was nice that he didn't have to talk to Birchwhisper. He'd been blatantly ignoring her since his ceremony, and didn't know her reaction to his being a medicine cat apprentice. He bet she didn't like it and would find a way to blame Fadingpaw. She was always weirdly mean like that.

"A-Alright?" Skypaw replied uncertainly.

"Then, go off. Enjoy your morning. Come back at Sun-high so I can quiz you on what you've retained in that golden head of your's so far." She instructed.

Skypaw was not keen on sticking around long enough for the slave driver of a medicine cat mentor to change her mind. He scurried out, maybe a little too eagerly. He really hoped Minnowheart didn't see that or read his mind or something. He wasn't convinced that she couldn't read minds, what with how she somehow knew what he was thinking or feeling at times when he hadn't said anything.

As his paws crossed the threshold of Minnowheart's den, he immediately slowed from his hasty pace. He lifted his head to quickly scan and try to locate his brother and friends. Now that he was awake and alert, he wanted to hear how their training had been going so far. He especially wanted to know if Fadingpaw was doing okay.

He spotted them laying by a stream that ran through camp. He dashed over with a nervous grin on his face.

"Sorry I haven-" He was trying to apologize when suddenly Salmonpaw was in his face. He shrank back with an "Eep!"

"Sorry?! That's all you have to say for ignoring your friends?! Why I oughta…! Why I oughta…!" She suddenly whipped to Creekpaw. "What should be my 'Why I oughta'?!" She questioned her brother who immediately seemed to draw a blank.

"Er, um… Deprive him of his favorite fish?" The black and white apprentice suggested uncertainly.

Salmonpaw did not like this answer, as she stamped childishly on the ground. "No! That doesn't work because Skypaw is boring and doesn't have a favorite fish! He just says mouse-dung like he likes all fish!"

Creekpaw folded his ears back and stared at the ground. "W-Well… I don't wanna be mean…" He murmured.

As Salmonpaw looked like she might actually explode from sheer frustration and anger, Shinepaw sighed and walked up, resting a paw on her sister's shoulder.

"Calm down." Shinepaw said with that voice of her's that had a calming effect that worked rather well. Despite her laziness, she was actually the only one that could consistently get Salmonpaw or Fadingpaw or both to calm down. Creekpaw sometimes tried, but he usually ended up chickening out of standing up to the two strong-willed apprentices or being too busy trying to prove himself with a backbone of his own.

Skypaw kind of wished that Creekpaw would join him and Shinepaw in the sane corner, rather than try to be like the er… More boisterous of their group.

Regardless, Salmonpaw did calm down. She still seemed mad, but at least her fur wasn't prickling all over the place.

"Let's allow Skypaw to make excuses." She reasoned. Skypaw frowned. Excuses? He thought his reasons were pretty solid. "Haven't you noticed he's been pretty tired whenever you tried to talk to him?"

Salmonpaw screwed her face up in concentration, then relaxed her expression. "... I guess."

Skypaw cleared his throat. "Er, well uh… Minnowheart is kind of a slave driver. She's been making me swim up and down rivers, climb trees, all the while trying not to lose the herbs in my mouth." He omitted his er… Supervised adventures. Minnowheart's voice echoed in his mind 'Let's keep these little outings between you and me, mmkay?' "She makes me do it all day, all the while quizzing me and forcing me to recite stuff about herbs." He couldn't help as remembered misery crept into his tone. He suddenly found himself hanging his head when he finished.

"Sounds terrible." Shinepaw deadpanned.

"You could at least pretend to be nice…." Skypaw despaired.

"Why her! She has to know you need lots of energy for a social life! I'm gonna go give Minnowheart a piece of my mind!" Salmonpaw's angry, vaguely explosive temper seemed to have a new target now: His mentor.

"N-No wait-" But it was too late.

Skypaw did the only thing he could do and he tackled Salmonpaw to the ground, before she could get far.

"No! Let me go Skypaw! I must avenge your lost social life…..!"

"Please stop! Minnowheart is too powerful!"

"Ack! Get off!"

"Oof!"

"Argh! Wha- Creekpaw!"

"E-Er I think this is a bad idea too…."

"You're all morons."

"That totally wasn't needed Shinepaw! How dare you not help me!"

"Eh."

It took their combined efforts, however Skypaw, Creekpaw, and Shinepaw (kind of) managed to talk Salmonpaw down. Mostly because Skypaw promised that Minnowheart had promised to loosen up a little, so he was sure that there'd be no problems keeping their friendship up since he was supposed to live through his apprenticeship anyways. It worked. Barely. However, the point was that Salmonpaw was no longer trying to go off and fight the clan's medicine cat.

Now that Skypaw had that over and sorted… He brought up something he thought was more important.

"So…. Where's Fadingpaw? I thought he'd be hanging with you guys." Skypaw asked.

"Er… Well… Along with you, Fadingpaw's been looking pretty tired lately. He usually comes around in the evening, after training…" Creekpaw offered quietly.

"He's not as tired as you, but he is pretty lame in the mornings! Hardly reacts when I try to start up one of our awesome verbal battles!" Salmonpaw complained. Skypaw figured she either didn't hear or was blatantly ignoring the muttered "Knew it" from Shinepaw in the background. Considering this was Salmonpaw… He supposed it was the former.

Skypaw lowered his ears. "Oh. Okay. I guess I can try to talk to him later…?"

"Skypaw! Break time over!" He guessed he could now gauge how long Minnowheart would give him in the mornings before it was time to get training again… Which wasn't much, but it was better than the nothing he had before.

"Guess you have to go now, huh?" Creekpaw said softly.

"Aw, your mentor is so lame! Have fun learning to be a prissy medicine cat!" Salmonpaw chirped. Skypaw resolved to keep his loose-lipped friend far away from the at times terrifying medicine cat, who would almost certainly be offended.

Shinepaw yawned.

Skypaw took a deep breath, before he ran off, bracing himself for another day of training with Minnowheart.

"Coming!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Skypaw realized that Minnowheart was serious about trying to loosen up on his training. He decided to thank whatever cat convinced his mentor that normal apprentices did not get dragged through freezing rivers multiple times a day, up until they were about to collapse on their paws. He realized it when the black and white she-cat declared it to be a good time to call it a day when the sky was only now softening into pink at sunset. As opposed to his previous nightmares disguised as training that kept him out until the moon was visible in full.

He yawned as he only slightly dragged his paws into camp, rather than feeling like he was dragged his entire lower half of his body into camp. He immediately stopped near the entrance, even as Minnowheart went onward, presumably back to her den. He was searching for his brother this time. He'd have no problem spending time with his friends… But… He wanted to talk to Fadingpaw about the fact that even Salmonpaw managed to notice he was tired. He loved Salmonpaw, he really did… But, she wasn't exactly the most observant of cats. It was mostly that she didn't consider drowsiness or exhaustion an adequate 'excuse' for not bouncing off the walls like she seemed to always be doing. Which meant, that Fadingpaw's apparently exhaustion was probably pretty bad.

His mentor was… Sootspeck, right? Skypaw couldn't say for sure, but the tom didn't strike him as the type to drive people into the ground. He guessed he'd have to ask Fadingpaw himself.

He scanned around camp, accidentally making eye contact with a few cats here and there, such as with a bengal tom who had hazel eyes. Then he finally spotted Fadingpaw! He was…. Face planted into the fresh-kill pile for some reason?

The golden-furred apprentice hurried over and bent down next to his brother and gently prodded his side.

"Fadingpaw? You doing okay there?" He asked carefully.

The downtrodden apprentice groaned something through the ground and fish in his face. Skypaw couldn't really tell what he was trying to say, though.

"Um… Can you talk to me? Just lift your head a bit?" He suggested.

With a louder groan that sounded like a general outcry of upsetness, Fadingpaw jerked his head up only to lay it back down on the side. At least he could talk and be heard now.

"Ugh…. I'm fine…." Skypaw could clearly see that the silver tabby had a hard time keeping his eyes open.

"Er, no. You're not, really. Can you tell me what's wrong? Everyone is worried about you." Skypaw said, concern in his voice.

"Even Mom and Dad?" Fadingpaw asked with as much pessimism as he could muster.

"Er, no. Salmonpaw, Shinepaw, and Creekpaw are pretty worried." Skypaw preferred to avoid the subject of their parents but… Fadingpaw brought them up a lot for some reason. Usually to complain about how they sucked at being parents and Lilysnow was clearly the better parent. Skypaw's brother liked to say a lot of things about how their friends didn't quite know how lucky they were to get Lilysnow as a mom. Skypaw… Couldn't deny it. Any attention Birchwhisper gave either of them was incredibly uncomfortable, albeit in different ways. Lightningfang had never even spoken to the two. Skypaw kind of wished Fadingpaw could let it go and appreciate the friends they had, and the fact that it was much easier to dodge Birchwhisper now.

Fadingpaw suddenly snapped into alertness, his amber eyes narrowing as he looked around the clearing. Skypaw, after a moment's hesitation, looked around as well. There were a lot of cats staring… But given how Fadingpaw was staring at everyone, he guessed it was pretty reasonable. Though, all the staring was uncomfortable. Finally, his brother relaxed and started whispering to him. Though, it was a little loud for a real whisper.

"I'll tell you my secret, but you gotta keep it a secret!" The amber-eyed apprentice hissed.

"Er, okay. Okay. I'll keep your secret. I promise. What is it?" Skypaw said with a nod, even if he wasn't sure what he was agreeing to hear.

With a final glance in both directions, Fadingpaw finally spoke. "I've been sneaking out to train at night. It's really important!"

Skypaw blinked. "But… Isn't that just creating more of a problem where there doesn't need to be. You look practically dead on your feet! You're way too tired to get through the day." Skypaw pointed out.

"W-Well yeah, but…" Fadingpaw's ears flattened and he looked away. "I guess you wouldn't get it because you're a medicine cat apprentice now… You haven't got any competition… But… It's just, everyone else seems to be picking up training faster than I am! It's kind of hard to keep the lay of the land straight in my head, I'm not a strong swimmer, and I'm just… I'm not very good at hunting or anything at all. Even Shinepaw is doing better than me and she barely puts in effort!" His voice had risen to a quiet shout at this point. Then he took a deep breath and looked Skypaw in the eyes again. "I just… I need this, okay? I haven't quite worked out how long I should stay out, but I guess I need to cut back on it. But, I'll have it figured out. Promise you won't tell. I won't stop, but I know I can make it work!"

This was the moment Skypaw realized he made the right choice choosing to become a medicine cat instead of a warrior. He… Hated even thinking about the idea of being part of what was doing this to Fadingpaw. He kind of wished his brother would stop trying to measure himself up to their friends, but he wasn't sure the silver tabby was ready to hear that right now. "Okay, okay. I believe you." Skypaw attempted to soothe his brother. "I won't tell. Just… Promise you'll get more sleep?" He asked hopefully.

Fadingpaw fixed him with a blinding grin that made it worth it. "Yeah, yeah! Of course! You're an awesome brother!" He lunged forward and affectionately nuzzled Skypaw's cheek. "Now, I'm going to go take a nap so I can be fresh later! Bye!"

Before Skypaw could react, his brother had gone into the apprentice's den, which was a tunneled out space beneath a tree trunk in the camp. He took a deep breath.

It seems like they'd be okay.

Skypaw didn't get to tell Fadingpaw about Minnowheart's psychotic training regimen, but… That could wait.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Despite Skypaw's numerous bad experiences, largely inflicted upon him by his mentor, with the numerous large bodies of water that were strewn throughout Rainclan's territory, he never attempted to avoid the water. He wasn't afraid of water. No cat afraid of water could survive in a clan whose territory was as populated with various rivers as Rainclan's. It was quite impossible to traverse the territory to get anywhere, without crossing at least a small stream. So, despite Minnowheart's possibly unintentional best efforts to instill a fear of water in him, he was still capable of braving the sometimes unruly rivers strewn about the territory. However, his swimming lessons seemed to be coming to an end, as the frost began to overtake the rivers, freezing them.

There were a few things Skypaw noticed about Rainclan as Leaf-bare approached. From what he'd seen, border patrols were more frequent. When he asked Minnowheart about it, she revealed that it was because Rainclan was most vulnerable in Leaf-bare when their rivers were frozen. All the other clans hated water for some reason, and would only dare invade during the freezing moons. Another thing he noticed that the ever present fog seemed to grow even thicker. It was difficult to navigate, and he was glad he wasn't really the type to sneak out on his own. He was worried about Fadingpaw, however. As far as he knew, his brother was still sneaking out at night. However, his fears appeared unfounded. Fadingpaw had managed to both not get caught and get lost in the territory. Personally, Skypaw worried about hunting when the rivers were frozen. However, his fears had been cleared up by Salmonpaw who claimed her mentor was going to explain a great technique for getting fish out through the ice anyways once the rivers were properly frozen. As a medicine cat, it wasn't exactly his top priority to be constantly hunting, however he still hunted now and again. Still, Minnowheart had plenty of time to explain how her method of straight up stealing from twoleg homes would help them get through Leaf-bare. With new herbs being unavailable until Newleaf rolled around, and having to preserve their current stores, a little stealing, according to Minnowheart, was essential. Skypaw wasn't so sure, however he hesitated to question his mentor who probably wouldn't actually heed his concerns.

The final thing Skypaw noticed was that the sharp tongued sassy members of the clan got even more sarcastic and prone to rudeness. Which meant, that the golden-furred apprentice was able to see things more clearly as the signs became more blatant. He wasn't sure if Fadingpaw noticed, but… It seemed like to Skypaw that a lot of cats pitied his brother. No, scratch that. He was pretty sure Fadingpaw had noticed and was trying to not let it bother him. He really didn't understand why. Well, not at first. It was kind of weird how easy it was to listen in on what cats thought of you and cats you knew. He got his answer when he found out that well… Not since he and his brother were born, no one liked Birchwhisper that much. Skypaw guessed they pitied Fadingpaw because Birchwhisper was so mean to him all the time. Then again… The golden apprentice thought cats could try doing something other than staring and whispering. It was kind of ridiculous.

Skypaw shook his head. He needed to get his head out of the clouds. Right now, he and Minnowheart were doing one of their sweeps through the territory to check for any herbs they could grab that they may have missed. Every little bit helps, and all that. So he needed to get his head in the game and focus. He glanced at Minnowheart who was turning her head side to side, likely to attempt at glimpsing any sort of medicinal greenery.

Skypaw squinted his own eyes, turning his head again and again, trying to focus. He did his best to look between every blade of grass, under every root, and in the depths of any partially frozen stream. It was hard and it was making his head hurt a little, but he was doing his best. He'd kind of lost track of how far they'd been going like this.

Suddenly Minnowheart stopped in her tracks, and Skypaw accidentally bumped into her.

"Ah! E-Er, Minnowheart…?" He asked carefully. "Why did you stop?" He tried to look around Minnowheart, trying to see what it was that made the medicine cat stop in her tracks.

The black and white she-cat's ears lowered. "There's a faint blood trail. I smell cats that don't belong. Let's go check it out, apprentice of mine. We can tell Flashstar what we find out." Before Skypaw could protest, his mentor had sprang off, presumably to track down the apparently cats that didn't belong.

Skypaw sighed, and dashed after her. He would've liked to go back to camp and tell Flashstar about the development so he could send warriors to investigate, like any normal cat. Alas, the hazel-eyed medicine cat wasn't exactly… The paragon of a cat with a normal thought process.

Another thing about his mentor was that she was surprisingly fast, even though she was a medicine cat and her priority wasn't exercise and fighting?! It had taken no time at all for him to lose the older she-cat, being forced to track her scent. One of the hardest things about being born in Rainclan… Was that tracking was extra hard, since it was all too easy to lose a scent when chasing it across rivers and streams.

He grunted as his paws slammed against the ground propelling him forward with every step. When his paws hit ice, he slipped and had to stumble wildly to keep from falling. His stride wasn't broken, but disturbed nonetheless. When he had to paddle swiftly through a deep river he couldn't stomp through like a stream, he could swear he was losing time. How did Minnowheart manage to not lose the trail like this…?

The scene he came upon when he finally caught up to his mentor was… Odd to say the least. He found his jaw opening as his eyes widened.

Minnowheart seemed to be wearing one of her expressions that seemed to say 'You're being really stupid right now, and you should know it.' at a stranger who… Didn't seem that much younger than Skypaw himself. A white tom with ginger stripes and yellow eyes was crouched down defensively, as if he was about to pounce and attack Minnowheart. When the fact that the tom seemed ready to attack processed, Skypaw shook his head fiercely. He bounded over to his mentor and landed at her side. He was about to say something, when he glanced at the tom. From this angle… He could see something behind the ginger and white tom.

Tucked into a depression underneath some tree roots were… A group of kits! This was the last thing Skypaw expected to find here.

"I'm not here to attack you or separate you from the kits!" Minnowheart snarled, with that irritated tone she used when dragging an unwilling warrior into her den.

"L-Likely story!" The young voice of the tom didn't win him any intimidation points in Skypaw's opinion. The tom just looked… Kind of scared of Minnowheart.

"T-Twist!" A voice cried from the side. Minnowheart and Skypaw both turned their heads to see a female, who seemed roughly about the tom's age, with a practically glowing white and soft silver pelt. Her eyes were a soft blue, and Skypaw couldn't help think she was kind of pretty.

The tom answered to the name, so Skypaw guessed that meant his name was Twist. "C-Cloudy… Listen, these guys I bet mean trouble…" He suddenly winced and Skypaw noticed a small injury on the side of Twist's head. He guessed that was where the blood trail came from.

The female, Cloudy, she suddenly turned her head at Skypaw and his mentor with wide eyes. She stepped forward, even as Twist protested.

"Do you?"

"D-Do we what?" Skypaw sputtered out. Minnowheart cast him a vaguely disapproving look.

"Mean us harm." Cloudy clarified. She seemed calmer than her friend who seemed all too ready to jump to conclusions out of suspicion.

Minnowheart snorted, and Skypaw managed to not startle too much at the sudden noise. "That's what I've been trying to say. I'm not trying to hurt you, or separate you. Just let me take a look at them."

Cloudy and Twist exchanged a look, and then started whispering to each other. Skypaw could tell they were murmuring something, but couldn't hear exactly what words they were using.

Eventually, Cloud turned her head and nodded and the two backed off. Though, Twist was grimacing the entire time and seemed more hesitant.

Skypaw awkwardly stayed back, holding himself stiffly as Minnowheart moved forward, past the two strangers, and peeked at the kittens hidden under the root. She sighed and withdrew, turning around. "All six of you are coming back to camp with Skypaw and I." She declared.

Needless to say, all three of them were shocked and had various things to say.

"What?!"

"O-Oh….?"

"Erm… But…."

Twist seemed angry and ready to attack again. Cloudy seemed nervous and looked like she'd said something wrong. Skypaw was feeling a little weird about Minnowheart making a decision like this on her own.

"Why! I thought you said you didn't mean us any harm!" Twist shouted furiously.

Minnowheart narrowed her eyes and suddenly stepped forward, getting into Twist's face, who shrank back. The medicine cat wasn't physically the most intimidating of foes, however she had a way of making others uncomfortable anyways.

"Listen, brat. Those kits are going to die of malnourishment and are going to freeze to death this Leaf-bare if you and your friend there plan on trying to care for them all by yourself. My guess is that you two can barely hunt enough to feed the two of you, much less plus four squealing kittens." She didn't snarl, however her voice was no less fierce and firm.

Twist seemed pained and looked away. Cloudy bowed her head with a miserable look on her face. "O-Okay then… We'll come with you…"

Minnowheart sighed, and called Skypaw over. He stepped nervously before his mentor's sharp bark had him running over. "Listen up. We're all going to carry a kitten each back to our camp. Alright?" She reached into the space, and pulled out a white-furred kitten. Then she backed up as Twist reached in and picked up a silvery tabby kit. Cloudy reached in and carried another gray tabby by the scruff. Skypaw stepped forward and took the last kitten, a ginger and white-furred kit.

Minnowheart began walking away, to the edge of the clearing. Then she looked over shoulder and beckoned the three of them with her tail.

Skypaw looked to Twist and Cloudy, smiling nervously, before bounding after Minnowheart, conveniently trying to walk in front of the strangers. He didn't want to look at their faces.

Cloudy's defeated expression and Twist's fury was a little too uncomfortable for him to look at for any prolonged period of time.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It wasn't long after Skypaw and Minnowheart reentered Rainclan's camp with kits hanging from their jaws, alongside two outsiders, that all eyes were on them. He found it as unnerving as ever, to be scrutinized so closely, but weirdly enough he was beginning to grow used to it.

Skypaw stuck close his mentor's side. He wasn't sure how the rest of the clan would react. It wasn't like it was every day that outsiders were brought into the heart of Rainclan's territory, within range of their kits, their prey, and their herbal stores. It was dangerous bringing them here, even if they had seemed a little sad. Cloudy and Twist couldn't be much older than him, and he couldn't imagine having to take care of four kits, even with the help of a friend.

He couldn't help but shrink back a little, ears folded back as Flashstar emerged from his den beneath the Tall Root, and approached them.

The powerful leader's eyes immediately met Minnowheart's, and the young apprentice couldn't help but be relieved he wasn't the primary recipient of that stare. He wasn't sure if it was a glare, but it was certainly intense enough to make him feel properly scolded.

"Minnowheart. Why have you brought strangers into our camp?" He didn't quite growl, but his fierce tone made the effects of his words the same.

Skypaw wasn't sure if he was horrified or in awe of the way that Minnowheart failed to seem affected in the slightest, defiantly staring back.

"These strangers are merely apprentice-aged, and with them they bring four small kits who are too small to fend for themselves." She pointed out, with a tail movement that wasn't a lashing, too slow. Skypaw was feeling a little out of place with the high tensions, just barely concealed by superior control of emotion. "I'd hoped that you would be wise enough to allow them to stay."

Skypaw heard a sharp intake of breath from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Cloudy's eyes opened wide, her jaw open, as she'd set down the kitten she'd been carrying on the ground. Out of curiosity, his eyes drifted to Twist who still seemed apprehensive as ever.

Flashstar seemed to study Minnowheart's gaze and then he grunted. "You're serious." He walked past Minnowheart, who seemed to gladly get out of his way, and moved to scrutinize the two outsiders who had brought kittens with them.

Skypaw watched as Cloudy suddenly went ramrod straight, her eyes widened. Her gaze occasionally darted off to the side. Twist glared determinedly at Flashstar, his paw twitching as if he were about to unsheathe his claws.

"What are your names? Who are you?" The lightning-eyed leader demanded.

"A-Ah! I'm Cloudy…" The white and silver she-cat began, when Twist cut her off.

"Cloudy, what are you doing?" He hissed, apparently trying to whisper, but failing considering how loud he still managed to be.

"We're at their mercy… And… The she-cat with hazel eyes was right… All of us are going to die slowly, alone, if we keep going like this…" She murmured.

Twist looked like he'd been struck in the face, and looked away. "... Okay."

Cloudy sighed. "My name is Cloudy. My friend…" She turned her head to the ginger and white tom beside her. "His name is Twist." She looked down at the kitten at her paws. "This is Shira." She looked to the kitten at Twist's paws. "That's Mirror." She reached out to point with a paw at the kitten dangling from Skypaw's jaws. "Her name is Peach." Then she moved her paw to point at the kitten Minnowheart had set down. "And that's Pearlie." She took a deep breath. "Shira, Peach, and Pearlie are the three she-kits of my parent's second litter. Mirror is Twist's younger cousin. None of us… Have parents anymore, just each other. So, we stuck together. It's only been a month so far, and we haven't been doing well…" Then suddenly, she hung her head for Flashstar. "We can't take care of the kits on our own, so please take them in! Even if you won't allow me and Twist to stay with them, please give them the chance to live they deserve!"

Twist seemed surprised by Cloudy's pleading, and after a moment of hesitation hung his head as well. "... Please." He managed to get out.

Flashstar looked at the two with a fierce gaze. Skypaw swore you could hear a blade of grass fall to the ground. He was worried that the white-furred tom would still turn the two young cats away. He certainly seemed scary enough to do such a thing.

Suddenly, the leader's gaze softened. "We of Rainclan are not so cruel to split up a family. We leave such careless apathy to Nightclan and Earthclan. We are willing to accept you into Rainclan. All six of you." He looked at the kittens. "These young ones are to stay in the nursery for now."

Then a familiar voice spoke up. "I would be willing to return to the nursery and care for them." Lilysnow offered.

Flashstar looked to Cloudy and Twist once more. "Are the kits old enough to eat meat?" He asked.

Twist nodded. "Barely."

Flashstar nodded. "And so, they will be looked over Lilysnow. They will also bear names suitable for kittens of Rainclan. From this day, Peach shall be known as Peachkit, Shira as Silverkit, Pearlie as Pearlkit, and Mirror as Mirrorkit. As for you two…"

Cloudy and Twist practically gulped in unison.

"You two will be trained in the ways of our clan, and in the ways of the warrior. From this day, you shall be known as Cloudypaw and Twistpaw." The white-furred leader's gaze turned to a tom with spotted stripes who seemed to be more of the calm and quiet type, to Skypaw. "Leopardfrost. Show Cloudypaw the meaning of what it is to be Rainclan and teach her how she can be a worthy warrior of our clan."

Leopardfrost bowed his head. "I shall do my best to teach her."

Then Flashstar turned to his deputy. Suddenly, Skypaw had a sudden need to look for Fadingpaw. He laid the kitten in his jaws on the group gently, and looked around for his brother. He spotted him standing with their friends, staring intently at Lightningfang. Skypaw found himself staring as well. Who could blame them? They barely knew anything about the deputy of Rainclan, other than that he was the brothers' father.

The golden tom had never approached the pair and Skypaw had immediately felt disheartened by it and… Well… He'd never even attempted to confront him about it. Meanwhile, Fadingpaw was more than willing to muscle his way into Lightningfang's face, however he didn't want to do it without Skypaw. With things as they were… The brothers hadn't even attempted to force their way into a conversation with Lightningfang in an attempt to get some answers.

However, if things were going the way he thought they were going to go… Skypaw could see a more indirect and more comfortable for him way to get to know something about Lightningfang at least. Fadingpaw was angry with their father, but Skypaw? He kind of just wanted some answers, to know who their father was really.

"Lightningfang. I would like you show Twistpaw the ways of the warrior and of our clan." Flashstar had done it. He'd given an indirect path to Lightningfang that Skypaw could follow.

Twist, or Twistpaw now, was a bit… Fierce and intense, but given Salmonpaw's intense energy, he was sure he could handle it. He felt a little iffy about trying to befriend the fierce apprentice for the sake of learning about his mentor but… He had to do it. He absolutely had to.

Lightningfang dipped his head to Flashstar. "I will." The tom promised.

Skypaw found himself staring at his brother again, intent on rushing over and telling him his idea. He was sure that Fadingpaw would love to hear it and follow along with his idea.

When he heard Minnowheart whisper into his ear that he could go, he bolted, even as the gathered cats dispersed and went back to their daily activities.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"What?" Fadingpaw seemed taken aback by what Skypaw had told him. "If you want to know about Lightningfang, we should just go up together and confront him!" He insisted, a little too loudly for Skypaw's tastes.

He didn't say anything about it and replied softly. "Lightningfang doesn't want to talk to us… He's made that pretty clear, and I don't really want to go up to him and be let down like I know we will." He looked away. "I just… I just want to know what kind of cat he is, so maybe I can understand why he did it… This is a safe way to do that." He looked back into his brother's amber eyes.

Fadingpaw grimaced and looked away again. "I just… This seems pretty lame. To Twistpaw, I mean. I don't want to use someone like that if I can help it."

Skypaw sighed. "... I guess you're right." He shook his head gently. "It was dumb, forget it…" He turned away.

Fadingpaw suddenly rested a paw on Skypaw's shoulder. "Hey, bro. You're not dumb. It's just… Kind of a weird idea. How about this. Twistpaw's probably all sorts of suspicious about… Everyone. He seems like the loud and angry type, like a dude version of Salmonpaw. How about, if we become friends with him it happens. Then we can ask him about Lightningfang. If we don't become friends, then we don't go off searching for it. Alright?"

Skypaw sighed and turned to look at his brother and smiled gently. "That sounds like a better idea. Thanks, Fadingpaw for sorting me out."

His brother grinned. "What are brothers for?"

The two brothers brushed against each other's sides, purring for each other. Fadingpaw often acted macho, trying to reject open displays of affection, but he never stopped Skypaw from showing he loved him. The golden apprentice tried hard not to think about the implications of that.

"So, I should probably go…." Skypaw said, as he began to back away.

"Okay. See you later, Skypaw." Fadingpaw chirped.

Skypaw suddenly stopped. "A-Ah… Please don't-"

"Don't tell the others? Don't worry. I won't. Salmonpaw would probably force her friendship onto those two if she knew, I know." The gray tabby interrupted with a smile.

Skypaw let out a sigh of relief, and left after flashing one final gentle smile.

"Do you know why I did what I did?" Minnowheart asked.

Skypaw had come straight back to the medicine cat's den after speaking with Fadingpaw, and was now helping the black and white she-cat to check over the herb stores. Of the few herbs they'd been able to scrounge up, she had already put them away, and Skypaw was only helping make sure all the herbs were still good. It was unfortunately easy for herbs to get damaged or dry up, thus losing their healing properties. He pulled his head out of the herb stores and looked at his mentor with wide eyes.

"I mean… No… But, why does it matter?" He asked.

Minnowheart sighed, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws. "As your mentor… I have many duties to you. I must teach you the ways of the medicine cat. How to heal and care for your clanmates. To prepare you for when the time comes, that you must interpret the signs that Starclan sends and have the entire clan trust your word."

Skypaw gulped. He knew that was to be his duty one day… However, it was still unnerving to think that so much responsibility would be his one day. Sure, he wasn't going to become leader and have to hold together the entire clan, like Fadingpaw wanted to… But being a full medicine cat by himself still sounded pretty intimidating.

"But, there's one more thing I must teach as your mentor. There will be difficult choices for you to make. There always are. In every cat's lifetime, there will be many crossroads where it's tough to make a choice. Sometimes because both choices are terrible, but you still have to pick one. I hope to teach you how to uphold your own morals, and stay true to yourself and pick the choice that you believe in. Hopefully, that's the right one." Minnowheart explained.

Skypaw looked down at his paws, tension in his expression. "Is… Is that why you brought two outsiders into camp with the kits? Because if you turned a blind eye, it would be against your morals…?" He asked quietly.

Minnowheart nodded. "Yes. As a medicine cat, it is my duty to help others. Of course, my priority is to Rainclan, however… Those two… They were young. Barely your age, and apparently only barely competent enough to hunt. They were never a threat to Rainclan, especially not with four kittens unable to fend for themselves weighing them down. So, I could've let them be. They would've likely moved on and died. However, I chose to intervene, to change their fate. Remember Skypaw… Even if you don't believe so, there is always something you can do to change the your fate and the fate of those around you." Then she stood up and leaned forward to stretch out her back.

Skypaw looked at Minnowheart blankly. He… Wasn't sure he understood everything the medicine cat said to him. Surely there'd be some situations where there would be nothing he could do? Besides, shouldn't his duty always be to the clan? He still felt confused, and hoped Minnowheart would elaborate. Sadly, she did not.

"Anyways, tomorrow night we will travel to the Crystal Cave. It'll be your first trip, so you best pay attention. Tomorrow, we won't be doing much aside from prep for the trip. It's a long trip, and it's better to be at peak energy at the start of the trip. No need to collapse on Earthclan's territory." The medicine cat said instead.

Skypaw nodded. He'd heard some stories, specifically from Shadowsnake, Rainclan's only elder at this time. Most of Rainclan's scary kithood stories featured the vicious, bloodthirsty Nightclan warriors and the cold, heartless Earthclan warriors. They were stories, but he couldn't help but think that perhaps they were true. All those moons ago, when he first met Nightclan cats at the border, they'd been kits like he'd been at the time. They were still kits, but they'd still been a bit mean. It wasn't enough to prove that Nightclan wasn't really as cruel as the stories said! Maybe the kits hadn't been taught yet, the terrible ways of a true Nightclan warrior.

The only real way to know, was at the upcoming gathering. Skypaw had no way to know if he'd be able to go… But at least one of the five turned seven apprentices would go, and they'd be able to tell the others. He felt a little more nervous about asking the newly named Cloudypaw or Twistpaw. Maybe he could rope his much more confident brother into asking, if it should come to it.

"I'm kind of nervous…" Skypaw confessed to his mentor.

Minnowheart laughed. "My first trip was riddled with anxiety and excitement. You're a lot quieter than I was. Am. Either or."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Crystal Cave was a sacred place for communing with Starclan. Skypaw was told by Minnowheart that it lay at the far end of Earthclan's territory. That fact made for a long journey by any of the other three clans, and gave Earthclan bragging rights unfortunately. Every now and again, apparently at gatherings Earthclan liked to rub it in the others clans' faces that they had the easiest access to the one place that was closest to Starclan. They always claimed in times of crisis they had Starclan's favor, and thus were best suited to interpret omens and prophecies that were addressed to all four clans.

According to Minnowheart, such prophecies were far and few in between… But not impossible. Though, such a thing had never happened in her lifetime. She'd been told that by her own mentor.

The trip was far, so the golden apprentice watched as the black and white medicine cat explained traveling herbs. She explained that for such a long journey, they'd need herbs for strength and to stave off hunger to travel to the Crystal Cave in an efficient manner. She wrapped up four packets of the needed herbs in broad leaves, between the two of them. When he asked why they needed four instead of two, she'd only smiled and explained that they'd need to come back, wouldn't they? Unless he planned at staying at the cave.

It wasn't anywhere close to evening, but Minnowheart wanted to start setting out earlier so they'd make it to the Crystal Cave by nightfall.

Apparently, the herbs worked best in tandem when you swallowed them all at once. So, both he and Minnowheart swallowed the bitter herbs, laced gently with honey as the medicine cat's secret to make unpleasant herbs a little more bearable without diluting their properties too much.

Then they were off. First, the mentor and apprentice duo had to reach the edge of Rainclan territory, to the border they shared with Earthclan.

In the past, Rainclan had holes in its natural defenses. The territory was on a plateau, and Rainclan's borders were largely cliffs. There used to tunnels connecting the top of the cliff to the base, however their ancestors blocked them off, thus making them unusable. There was a staircase, however, on three sides. One that lead into Earthclan territory, into Nightclan territory, and a final one that led to the Waterfall Valley, where the four clans met for gatherings. They were unnatural formations, that cats were able to use safely and appreciated, however they were likely created by twolegs. Twolegs seemed to love created odd structures and messing around with the land in ways that were… Unnatural. Still, they allowed Rainclan to retain access to their neighbors and necessary areas without going over the waterfalls that poured over Rainclan's edge and into the other territories.

Skypaw had heard about the cliffsides, but he'd never quite stood on the edge like this… He swallowed, holding the pouch of herbs for the journey back tight. It was… Really far down. If he tripped, he could imagine he'd be falling forever before he hit the ground with a sickening crack. The thought made him shiver. Then he suddenly noticed Minnowheart was no longer beside him. He looked around frantically for his mentor, intimidated by the idea of advancing on his own.

He suddenly spotted the hazel-eyed she-cat already descending down the rocky staircase. She suddenly stopped on the steps, looking over her shoulder and beckoning him with a combination of tail movements and nodding her head. He did not immediately spring over to her, instead carefully treading, his eyes darting over the edge as if he did not keep an eye on the distance below it would take him by surprise.

His mentor descended the stairs with practiced grace, confident that she wouldn't fall, as she'd likely taken this route a thousand times over every half-moon. Meanwhile, Skypaw couldn't get the image out his neck snapping on the hard ground below out of his mind. Every disturbance of him accidentally knocking a pebble off the edge, or whenever he felt his footing might possibly not be stable enough made him freeze. His descension was not timely or efficient at all, his path was slow and uncertain of his own balance. It was agonizing, as the steps heading downward seemed to go forever, the ground not appearing to get any closer as he stepped forward. He feared tripping down the stairs and breaking his neck that way as well. This twoleg modification made him incredibly uneasy. He would've preferred a gradual slope, or even a river gradually spilling into Earthclan. Not the waterfall, since that seemed liable to break his bones in a fatal manner as well.

His only solace was that this journey would only occur once a moon. On the downside, he had to do this every moon, unless for some odd reason Flashstar banned his medicine cats from making the journey. Which, sounded unthinkable. What leader would spurn the possibility of guidance from the ghostly spirits that wandered the stars above?

Even though it took forever, Skypaw finally did reach the ground. He flopped onto the ground, dropping his herbs by his side, as he curled up and savored the stable feeling of the grass beneath him. Though, he wasn't sure he liked how dry Earthclan's territory was.

In comparison to Rainclan's mist covered forest and winding rivers, Earthclan was barren. Rusted brown grass stretched out as far as the eye could see, seemingly depressingly flat. The only sign of anything interesting was where one of Rainclan's main rivers spilled over the cliffside and raged downwards into a waterfall, before relaxing and pooling into a calm river that looked nice enough to swim in. Though, said river was edged with ice. The waterfall's power was too great to be frosted over, however the calmer waters always froze at least a little.

"Come on, Skypaw. Stop wasting time, we've still got a while to go." Minnowheart called.

Skypaw hastily picked up his herbs, as he dashed after his mentor, the packet of medicine bouncing against his chin as he ran.

The dry grass poked as his pads as he moved, and it was uncomfortable. It wasn't like Rainclan's ground was cushioned, however it wasn't like the ground hated everyone as well. With such unfriendly grass, it wasn't hard to imagine Earthclan cats as prickly as the ground they walked on.

The plains of grass seemingly stretched forever, and he already missed his vision being obscured by the ever present fog, trees that drooped with the humidity, the damp ground, and there comforting presence of water nearby that were all hallmarks of Rainclan's territory. This place sucked, and he would hate to have to live here. He wondered if Earthclan had pads made of rocks. It would make sense if this was the territory they'd chosen to stay in all those moons ago! He wondered if this was why Earthclan had tried to take territory in the past.

Though, similar to the stairs, even as it felt as if it had taken forever, he still made it to his destination. He looked ahead and saw where they were heading, a cave opening in a high cliffside. He assumed that the cliffside that stretched around Rainclan extended this way as well. He'd never actually seen a real cave opening, however. Minnowheart showed him some of the ones that were blocked up by their ancestors, however he hadn't seen one that you could actually pass through. He shivered. It looked awfully dark in there… Would they get lost? Would the darkness swallow them up? What kind of creatures were lurking there in the dark. He'd found himself frozen in place and Minnowheart noticed.

She sighed, and turned around to sudden nudge him roughly with his head. With a yelp, he was forced into motion and started walking forward uncertainly, first gazing back at Minnowheart and then gazing into the darkness. She'd given him an encouraging nod, however he couldn't help but think this was a little much.

He wandered into the darkness, even as it seemed to surround him. He shuddered at the feeling as if he were being swallowed, and traveling into the belly of some huge, frightening beast. He didn't think he liked this place much. He could hardly tell where he was going, other than a vague sense he was heading downward. He tripped a few times, since he couldn't see in the dark, and bumped into a wall he couldn't see.

Then suddenly he saw a faint light up ahead. "What is….?" He whispered.

"Not the whole cave is encased in darkness. Deeper in the cave, farther from the surface, glowing crystals illuminate the cave. What, you thought Starclan would ask us to commune on the cold, hard ground entirely surrounded by darkness?" There was an amused lilt to her voice from behind him.

Skypaw swallowed and his tense expression softened. "I-I guess I shouldn't have doubted…" He replied quietly.

There was a light chuckle from behind him, however otherwise there was no other response.

True to Minnowheart's word, he entered a new section of the cave. He could see they were in a tight tunnel, however it was brighter than the previous darkness. Cool, blue light bathed the tunnel in illumination, allowing Skypaw to finally see where he was walking and allow him to avoid tripping and crashing further. Though, he still couldn't see the place where they would actually commune with Starclan in their dreams.

Their destination was further down apparently. Finally, the tunnel gave way to an open room. As they walked into the opening bathing in the same crystalline light as the tunnel leading in, he could see an underground river pooled into the room, creating a shallow pool. Within that shallow pool, he could clearly see four different smooth stones that looked comfortable enough to lay down on. Each stone was shaped differently: A raindrop, a circle, a diamond, and a cloud. He tilted his head. That was odd. There were crystals under the water as well, lighting up the pool.

"This is it." Minnowheart announced from behind him, and moving forward. He watched as his mentor immediately slipped into the pool, and waded over to the raindrop-shaped stone, and climbed onto it. She laid down on it, and now he could see that the stones were high enough for one to get wet, however wouldn't allow someone to drown in there sleep. When his mentor laid down, he could see that there was enough room on the stones for two cats as well. "Skypaw. C'mon." The hazel-eyed she-cat called.

The golden-furred apprentice hurried forward, splashing the water as he scrambled to join his apprentice. He almost slipped clean across the stone, but managed to find his place, folding his ears back as he awkwardly settled down next to his mentor.

Unimpressed, an aged brown-furred tom watched them from the cloud-shaped stone, alongside a young tom with a similar brown pelt. "Are all young Rainclanners that clumsy in water?" He asked, and Skypaw couldn't tell if he was being mocking or genuine or disinterested or what.

Personally, Skypaw thought that the smaller brown-furred cat seemed pretty awkward with how he was fidgeting as well.

Minnowheart rolled her eyes and looked down at Skypaw. "That's Muddyheart, Earthclan's medicine cat. Beside him is Twigpaw, his apprentice. Earthclan always gets here first, since they are the closest." She explained. "Muddyheart isn't impressed with anyone. He seems to forget that medicine cats are to be beyond the interests of any one clan frequently."

The Earthclan medicine cat snorted. "And you, Minnowheart, take every chance to take a jab at others. Not exactly a star quality of a supposed healer."

The female medicine cat appeared unbothered, simply shrugging in response. "I am, what I am." Apparently unbothered by Muddyheart's words.

Then Muddyheart went on to lecture Minnowheart about shame. At least he tried. Minnowheart wasn't the type to take mouse-dung from anyone, so of course she interrupted him and implied that Muddyheart was weak-minded and easily swayed by opinion. Then it simply escalated into a calm-toned verbal battle. It made Skypaw extremely uncomfortable. He gazed across the pool at Twigpaw, who gave him a sympathetic smile. Skypaw awkwardly smiled back. Maybe not all Earthclan cats were so bad. Twigpaw seemed alright.

Minnowheart and Muddyheart bickered away, until a she-cat with a beautiful silvery pelt entered the room.

"Moonpelt." Muddyheart gruffly greeted.

Moonpelt's tail passively swayed like a pendulum behind her. "Muddyheart. Twigpaw. Minnowheart." She greeted each of the cats she'd clearly met before in turn. Before she bent her head down to regard Skypaw, who suddenly felt uncomfortable. Then her eyes turned to Minnowheart, and Skypaw couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped him. "So, you've taken an apprentice. I thought you swore you'd only take one when you were on the cusp of hitting your expiration date?" She inquired.

…. Did Minnowheart swear that? It was a little disheartening to hear that his mentor hadn't wanted an apprentice. His mentor did nothing to comfort him with her words. In fact, she simply shrugged.

"Eh. The brat clung tight and wouldn't let go, so what choice did I have?" Ouch.

Feeling dejected, Skypaw hung his head as Moonpelt waded through the pool to take her place atop the diamond-shaped stone. Muddyheart wore a look of disgust. "I cannot believe that Starclan forces us to commune with them in a pool of water."

"Perhaps Earthclan isn't as favored as you believe." Minnowheart's expression as she spoke radiated smugness.

However, her insult sparked another argument between the two less than friendly medicine cats, with Moonpelt occasionally inserting a clever statement here and there. Were all medicine cats like this? Did having to heal the clan and interpret omens from ghosts drive medicine cats mad? Suddenly, Skypaw feared for his sanity more than ever.

Eventually, finally the Nightclan medicine cats arrived. Minnowheart whispered into his ears that Nightclan was always the last to arrive, being the farthest from the Crystal Cave. A scrawny tom with faded brown fur and exhausted gray eyes was apparently Nightclan's deputy. Skypaw blinked. That certainly didn't fit the image of the scary, vicious Nightclan cats. Perhaps being a medicine cat, he was of a different cut. Beside him, a young she-cat probably about Skypaw's age with flaming, red fur seemed to be looking around the cave suspiciously. That fit Skypaw's preconceptions much better.

"Shrewberry. It's a pleasure to see yourself and Poppypaw are in good health." Moonpelt greeted in the serene, almost sleep-inducing voice that belonged to her.

Shrewberry barely seemed to register Moonpelt's voice, as he walked to his place on the final circular stone, Poppypaw following at his side as she glared daggers at everyone in the room.

"Ah yes, such a pleasure to be ignored and to be glared at, every half-moon." Minnowheart commented sarcastically.

"Hush, now! Your snark is not appreciated." Chided Muddyheart.

"Yes. We should begin now, before we miss our chance to commune with Starclan, and gain insight into how we can better the lives of our clans." It struck Skypaw how diplomatic Moonpelt was, and likely how often she had to play the mediator between cranky, bickering medicine cats.

Without further ado, the cats around the cave, including his mentor, laid their heads down and closed their eyes.

Skypaw took a deep breath and closed his eyes, resting his head against the stone dipped in the thinnest layer of water.

Then he felt as if he were falling backwards into a deep, dark river


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Skypaw was falling deeper and deeper into the river. As if some dark, murky river had grabbed him from behind and was dragging him down by his back. However, he wasn't drowning. He could breathe. He was breathing normally. He would've thought his heart would be pounding out of his chest, however he couldn't feel his heartbeat. He floated downwards further and further and further… Then somehow he felt himself turning, slowly moved so he was gently floating down and prepared to land on his feet. His paws gently met some sort of… Floor. He gazed around, feeling as if he should be more fearful than he was.

He was standing on a river of stardust. He could feel a damp surface underneath his paws, when he looked down he could see the ripples from where his paws met the surface. Yet, he wasn't sinking beneath the surface and instead standing on the river. Underneath the water's surface he could see glittering stars shining underneath. He wondered how deep this river of stars was. He felt like there… Layers of stars. Then suddenly something caught his eye, some of the stars were moving! They spiraled and moved in an odd pattern, until Skypaw realized it was a moving constellation of a cat. They were leaping towards him, running forward. He suddenly found himself scrambling to back up, as suddenly the starry cat burst through the surface of the water with a glittering splash, and landed softly upon the water's surface.

Skypaw blinked and saw the she-cat standing before him. She had a brilliant, glowing golden pelt that glittered with stars tucked in her fur. She was… Tall. Wow. She was beautiful. She smiled, with stars hidden even behind her warm, hazel eyes. He thought he must look like an idiot, as he suddenly dropped his rump onto the ground, jaw wide open.

"Skypaw. It's wonderful to finally meet you." She finally spoke.

"Er, yes, I mean… You're of Starclan right? This is…. A dream? A dream of Starclan? I mean you've got stars in your pelt and everything-" He slammed a paw over his mouth. He was rambling! In front of Starclan! Did she think he was dumb now? She probably did. His embarrassed train of thought was suddenly interrupted with a light chuckle from the she-cat.

"Skypaw. It is alright to be anxious. Young cats such as yourself are uncertain and it is perfectly natural. I realize I should introduce myself… My name is Sunnyraven. I am your ancestor. On your father's side." The newly named Sunnyraven explained.

"O-Oh…" Skypaw couldn't help his wide blinking. His grandparents had been dead since before he was born… He hadn't ever known any family aside from Fadingpaw. He supposed Lightningfang and Birchwhisper counted… But it didn't feel right. It didn't feel right to call them family. He couldn't explain it, however it simply… Gave him a weird uncomfortable feeling. "So… Um… Is there something you're supposed to tell me? A-Ah… I don't know how this works. I erm… Don't think talking to Starclan is just for small talk… Right?"

Sunnyraven smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury to casually speak to the living cats below often. Times of true peace without conflict are far and few in between… They never tend to last long, I've found." She suddenly stepped forward and Skypaw froze up.

He winced and shut his eyes tight. The golden she-cat only reached forward and rested her chin atop Skypaw's forehead.

"I am… Sorry, Skypaw. I wish you did not have to bear the burden you do. You and your brother walk a path of suffering. It is your written destiny that has already damaged your kithood, allowing you not a second of peace." She whispered softly.

Skypaw flinched, and Sunnyraven had already stepped back with a sad expression. "Burden? What burden?" He asked, not knowing what in the world his ancestor was speaking of. He suddenly found himself on his paws again. "What suffering? What do you mean?"

Suddenly, Skypaw realized that Sunnyraven was already slowing sinking back into the river of stardust. He leaped forward, trying to grab her before she left. However, it was in vain. After she sunk back into the river, a pouncing constellation once more, leaping far out of reach. He could hear her voice one final time.

"After you return home… Pay close attention to your mentor, but do not allow her to know of your presence." Came the whisper in his ears.

Did that mean… Eavesdropping? That didn't sound okay, even coming from Starclan. Before he could properly think about the ethical implications of his apparently wise ancestor telling him to spy on his beloved mentor figure, the water in front of him surged up. He froze. In the water, he could see a fiery cat within its depths. It wailed and screamed. Then the water surged towards Skypaw and engulfed him, without giving the medicine cat apprentice even time to scream. He was lost in the waves, and at the mercy of the current. It was dark. There were no stars here. He gazed forward and saw the fire cat. Was that…? Then the fire cat evaporated and the violent current whisked Skypaw away.

When he suddenly felt like he was slammed, painfully, into a wall, he jerked his head up and he was awake. Frantically, he looked left and he looked right not sure of where he was. His panicked heartbeat slowed as he realized he was in the Crystal Cave. He looked around. He was the first to wake up… He stared down into the crystal-lit pool.

Were all Starclan dreams like that….?


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Skypaw's bones ached and he felt ready to collapse into his comfortable nest in the medicine cat's den. However, he couldn't help but remember Sunnyraven's words. The starry-furred she-cat had wanted him to spy on Minnowheart without her knowledge for some reason. He was nervous, since he wasn't sure for what reason the Starclan cat had imparted her urgent words. He could spend all day conjuring wild and horrific fantasies about what it could possibly mean, but the only way he'd find out was by doing it. He didn't want to feel like he couldn't trust Minnowheart, but what was it to go against Starclan? A clan without Starclan's guidance was doomed… Or at least, that's what every cat made it sound like.

It was raining when they came home. Rain still made it's way into the camp, though it was a peaceful mist. It still messed with scents, and could make it difficult to detect scents. Especially if you weren't looking for them. Skypaw purposefully held back and hid behind a large root to listen in. He'd told Minnowheart he wanted to eat with his friends. She sassed him, something about not thinking food became any less soggy because of the magic of friendship. He was pretty sure she didn't suspect anything. As he strained his ears to hear he was surprised to hear a voice he'd only heard once in his memory.

"... Minnowheart." That was… Lightningfang's voice! The voice of the Rainclan deputy and his… Father. Skypaw wasn't sure exactly what he felt about the deputy. He'd never been around. Did he count as a Father? He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure he felt anything about the golden-furred tom. He nervously bit the inside of his mouth, trying to calm down his frantic heartbeat.

"Lightningfang. What do you want?" Skypaw had never known that Minnowheart didn't like Lightningfang. Actually, he wasn't sure he'd ever heard Minnowheart this angry. It sounded as if she were about to claw the tom.

"I simply wanted to know how my s-... Skypaw. How is he doing?" What was that? Was he about to say his son? Skypaw felt a bit ridiculous how he kind of hoped he was going to say his son. However, the tom had switched to his name. Skypaw felt terribly confused and wasn't sure if his Dad cared or if he was doing his best to detach himself.

More anger from Minnowheart. "Oh, so once a mentor is around to be a middle man, you're okay with inquiring after your son?! Don't tell me you've pulled this mouse-dung with Sootspeck and Fadingpaw as well!"

"... You know exactly why I… I can't speak to my sons." Lightningfang never seemed to sound like he felt much of anything, but… This was beyond that. Skypaw couldn't describe it.

"You can't? Don't make me laugh. You've been able to talk to your sons this entire time, you've chosen not to because you're a coward." A coward? What did Minnowheart mean by that? Skypaw's mind was whirring and he was confused. He felt like he was missing so much context here. He tried to focus his ears harder, as if that would summon the missing information.

"I-I… I can't, Minnowheart." Lightningfang sounded desperate now. "Birchwhisper, she… I left them alone with her. I just… It's my fault she treats them that way. I couldn't take it… And then when I wanted to talk to them, it was too late. It'd be too strange, they'd be asking where I was that whole time. I couldn't… It's better if they don't have a father…" Skypaw could only imagine if Fadingpaw was here. He'd be yelling at Lightningfang. Then he froze. Could he tell Fadingpaw any of this? This information felt really important but… Sensitive as well. He didn't really think his brother was the kind with gentle, careful claws. He didn't like the idea of making such a decision that would be so… So hard.

"And who are you to decide that? Don't you think those kids should get the chance to decide whether they want their Father in their lives?" A snarl came from Minnowheart. "Skypaw… He's a good kid. He deserves to know his Dad, even if he's a cowardly piece of crowfood." Skypaw winced. He thought that was kind of mean… But Minnowheart was a little mean, in a teasing way all the time. He guessed it made sense that an angry Minnowheart would be extremely harsh.

"... I'll… Think about your words…" The murmur was barely heard. Skypaw froze up, as Lightningfang emerged from the den and walked away. He hadn't seem to have noticed Skypaw. The golden apprentice softly let out a sigh of relief.

"Skypaw." Then Skypaw froze up again. "Come inside." Minnowheart sounded perfectly calm. It was terrifying. Nervously, with ears folded back and his chest tight, he walked forward inch by inch into the den. He hung his head expecting to be yelled at. Instead, the medicine cat sighed. "... You shouldn't have had to hear it like that." She murmured.

Skypaw's ears perked up. "Erm…. I-I'm sorry… I just-" Suddenly he was cut off.

"Did a Starclan cat tell you to eavesdrop?" Minnowheart asked suddenly.

Skypaw tentatively nodded. Minnowheart sighed again.

"Thought so. You aren't the nosy type, unlike your brother and that friend of your's, Salmonpaw." She shook her head gently. "... I believe I have no other kind choice than to simply tell you the full story." She took a deep breath and sat down. Skypaw sat down as well nervously meeting Minnowheart's eyes.

The she-cat began speaking. "About a quarter-moon before you and Fadingpaw were born… I received a prophecy. 'From the pale earth, and silent lightning, a savior and destroyer shall be born.'" She shook her head gently. "I figured out fairly easily the pale earth was your mother, and silent lightning was your father. Meaning, according to the prophecy of you two… One of you shall save us and the other shall destroy us." She snorted. "However, we of Rainclan… Heh. We aren't going to immediately assume one of you is Dark Forest-bound, and treat you as such. Has anyone besides Birchwhisper treated you and your brother, ill?" She asked.

Skypaw thought about it for a moment, before answering. "... There's been stares. I don't think they notice we know, but me and Fadingpaw see them." He admitted.

Minnowheart shook her head gently again. "... They're staring because they feel sorry for you and Fadingpaw, due to your Mother's treatment. Your Mother somehow decided that you surely must be the savior, and your brother the destroyer. Of course, there's no way of knowing that, and it doesn't explicitly say what will be destroyed and saved. It could save our hatred. It could destroy our hatred. Who knows, really? There's too many interpretations, and honestly… There's no point dwelling on prophecies in general. They tend to come to pass whether you like it or not, and trying to change it usually ends in disaster, forcing the prophecy instead of circumventing it. So, Flashstar figured it was best to treat you two kids as if you didn't have a prophecy dogging your steps. Of course, that didn't happen, not entirely. The stares, Birchwhisper... Still. It could've been worse."

Skypaw was silent. He… This was a lot of take in. "... Thanks… For telling me." He murmured. "Can I… Can I tell Fadingpaw…?"

"... Look, I'm not sure telling your brother is the best idea… But I know you value your relationship with him, and how it would kill you inside to keep a secret from him. So, I'll let you choose. I think that secrets kill healthy relationships, though." Then she yawned. "Anyways, this has been very depressing and we should sleep. Sure, this might've been worldview shattering for you, but come tomorrow… The sun will rise as normal, the territory will be foggy as usual, and I'll be poking jabs at you every 2 seconds as usual. The world goes on. It's fine kiddo." Then the medicine cat offered one last grin.

"Night, kiddo."

Skypaw found his paws carrying himself to his nest, and he collapsed on his side. He shut his eyes and drifted off into darkness, not wanting to think about the night's revelations anymore until the morning.


	15. Chapter 15

((Author's Note: First author's note here. Figured I should point that thanks to a review from Liquiir, I noticed that I accidentally posted chapter 9 twice, instead of posting chapter 8. Guess I should pay better attention to actually posting the right chapter… Anyways, I'm glad you guys are enjoying my fic! With every review life is breathed into my motivation to write!))

Chapter 15

Skypaw wasn't really paying attention to what was doing. He found it difficult to focus on going about his day like normal with last night's events and revelations going through his mind. He'd thought about trying to find Fadingpaw in the morning and tell his brother about what he'd learned from Minnowheart but… He was worried about the tabby's reaction. He figured it'd be… Brazen, at the very least. They'd never known before why Birchwhisper had treated them the way they had been, and Skypaw wasn't really sure how he felt and if he was okay with it. He imagined it'd be worse for Fadingpaw because Birchwhisper had only doted on him excessively, to the point of discomfort. Their mother had flat out attempted to tear down Fadingpaw's confidence and esteem, trying to convince her own son of her own perceptions of him. Which were obviously wrong.

Skypaw was training to be a medicine cat. He was supposed to be the one interpreting Starclan's messages one day, but he couldn't help but think the prophecy had to be bogus. There was no way himself or Fadingpaw were going to destroy the clan. Skypaw wouldn't say he loved Rainclan exactly, but he knew all of his clanmates and he knew he wouldn't want to see any of them hurt. He was sure Fadingpaw was the same, his personality could be a little bold sometimes but he'd never hurt any of their clanmates. Maybe Starclan was wrong or testing Rainclan to see how they'd react to such a prophecy? He felt uncomfortable with these ideas, because it implied Starclan being less honorable than they were supposed to be. If he believed the prophecy, then apparently either he or Fadingpaw were going to turn out evil somehow. If he denied it, it felt like he was going to shape out to be a terrible medicine cat. No matter how he looked at it, the prophecy that Minnowheart told him about was messing up his view on himself and the cats around him.

He took a deep breath, bending his legs as he lowered his body closer to the ground, keeping his tail raised and parallel to the ground. Most of his lessons focused on preparing himself for the far off future of being a full medicine cat, however from time to time Minnowheart brought up hunting and battle lessons. It would never be his focus, but according to his mentor they were essential skills for anyone. He just needed to be competent, no need to perfect it to proficiency like the regular warrior apprentices would need to.

Normally, Rainclan's diet focused on primarily fish. However, during the cold, freezing season of Leaf-bare, the technique of stalking and pouncing upon land prey was necessary. Some of the larger rivers in Rainclan never completely froze over, but the fact remained that fish became less reliable a food source than it was at any other time of the year. So, he had to learn to stalk and pounce upon his prey. It was… Different. Prey on land such as mice behaved much differently than fish, which generated some difficulty in having to catch an entirely different type of prey.

He lifted a forepaw from the ground and carefully reached forward, pressing it down softly on the ground in front of him. He slowly repeated the process with his other three paws, painstakingly stalking the unsuspecting rodent. It was difficult to discern what the proper distance a cat should be from their prey before pouncing, and Minnowheart's initial advice of "When you can actually catch it without it getting away or shrieking" wasn't all that helpful. He found it was more so after you'd made a few blunders and figured it out through trial and error. He wondered if Minnowheart being off had to do with the fact that Skypaw was apparently her first apprentice, and the medicine cat had no idea how to teach hunting? He figured it was a reasonable possibility.

He leapt for his target. He landed right on top of it, able to easily trap it between two clawed paws, as he delicately snapped its neck with his teeth. It hadn't made a sound. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Not much point in a successful silent kill, if you're the one who makes the noise that scares away the prey."

Skypaw looked up to see Minnowheart emerging from around a tree. He shrugged. "... I guess." He started staring at the ground. He wasn't looking at Minnowheart's face.

"... Hey kid, it's getting late. You… You did good today. We'll go back, take a rest. Maybe rest helps lessons sink in better, who knows?" Then she began the trek back to camp, Skypaw following with his thoughts mostly in another place. He didn't think he'd be able to focus on his normal life for a while… He needed to talk to Fadingpaw at least. Maybe it'd help.

When his paws crossed the threshold into camp he found his paws carrying him to the fresh-kill pile in the middle of camp. He didn't take any prey from the small dug-out depression in the ground, where the pile rested. He didn't feel hungry. Was that normal? He laid down on his side and stared at the pile. It was mostly compiled of fish, as Rainclan's main source of food, with some rodents here and there. He'd seen a bird end up there once or twice, but Rainclanners were swimmers and sometimes stalkers. They didn't usually leap to catch their prey, and most Rainclanners didn't seem to like having to get through feathers to get to their meat.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there, trying not to think too hard about anything, actually. He was pretty sure he was there for a while. Then he looked up to see Shinepaw's lazy expression looming over him. She didn't even ask first before sitting down next to him, before slumping into a lazy position, laying down as well.

"I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be the lazy one." She spoke up quietly. Skypaw appreciated her calm energy. He wasn't sure he'd be able to deal with Salmonpaw right now and Creekpaw… Creekpaw was the sort of kind of needed reassurance, and wasn't in the position to give any.

"I just… I'm waiting. I don't feel like thinking about anything or doing anything while I wait." Skypaw murmured, not feeling up to raising his voice at all.

"Waiting for Fadingpaw?" Skypaw found it amazing how Shinepaw could sound bored with her surroundings, yet still attentive to what you were saying.

Skypaw only nodded quietly in response. Shinepaw yawned. Suddenly, the golden-furred apprentice was struck with the thought that it wasn't only him and his brother that got stared at. Though, they were softer with Shinepaw. Mostly, he got the impression they thought that Shinepaw was a lazy layabout who wasn't going to amount to much.

… Well, actually that last part was what Shinepaw said her mentor said about her. It sounded pretty mean of Morningglow, in Skypaw's opinion.

"You shouldn't worry so much. You two… You're pretty different." Shinepaw shrugged. "You'd think you two would fight more. But, nah. Fadingpaw loves you, even when he's yelling for no reason." Skypaw looked at Shinepaw hesitantly. She did not appear impressed. "Don't give me that look, you're being dumb. Don't sweat it. It's clear whatever it is you want to talk to him about is heavy stuff. He's going to come. You'll talk to him. One of you will leave and life will go on." She rolled her eyes. "This isn't the end of the world." Then the black and white apprentice stood up, and walked away towards the apprentice's den.

It suddenly occurred to him that Shinepaw was kind of like Minnowheart… Just less enthusiastic and more lazy.

Skypaw took a deep breath. He hoped Shinepaw was right and things would be okay.


	16. Chapter 16

((Author's Note: It's a little short… But I hope it's still good!))

Chapter 16

Skypaw's ears perked uncertainly upward as he spotted Fadingpaw passing through the threshold into camp. He rose to his paws, and began walking to meet his brother half-way. Fadingpaw's eyes widened in recognition and he stopped, his mentor Sootspeck passing the younger gray-furred tom on his way in.

"Hey, you got a face. Is something up?" Fadingpaw asked immediately.

Skypaw wasn't sure if he was happy or feeling nervous at the thought that Fadingpaw could read him so easily. Was he an open book to his brother, to open at any moment without any chance of hiding. The golden apprentice cleared his throat awkwardly.

"U-Uh, well… Yes. I… It's really important and you need to know. It's… It's not fair to keep it from you." Skypaw explained quietly. Beckoning his brother over to a shady spot of camp, they sat down together. Though, the weather in Rainclan was always at least cloudy, so shady was more like hiding in the obviously darker spot in camp.

Skypaw cleared his throat again.

"I got the truth from Minnowheart about…." He trailed off. Could he really tell Fadingpaw this? He didn't want to lie and keep secrets, and it was already too late, but… The full weight of everything he'd been told suddenly weighed down on him at this moment, his doubts attacking at full force, at the last possible second.

"Truth about what?" Fadingpaw pressed, his tone beginning to grow impatient.

Skypaw winced. "About… Us. About Mom. About…. Dad, too." He whispered softly.

Fadingpaw suddenly sat ramrod straight, his gaze suddenly intensifying as if the sun had suddenly blazed into existence in Rainclan's heart, burning away the fog that permeated their territory at all times. "What do you mean? What truth? What didn't they tell me?!" His tone suddenly grew sharp and Skypaw fought hard to not shrink away from his brother's anger. Skypaw didn't miss how Fadingpaw said 'me' and not 'us.'

"... There was… A prophecy, a little bit before we were born." Skypaw began.

Fadingpaw sucked in air.

"Um… The exact wording doesn't matter, I think, but ah… Basically what everyone got from it was that Mom and Dad would have kids, and one… Would be a savior and one would be a destroyer." He said, trying to speed through that last part.

Fadingpaw's head turned down staring at the ground and he began shaking.

Skypaw's ears folded back and he uncertainly reached a paw forward. "F-Fadingpaw? Are you… Are you doing alright?" He asked carefully, his blue eyes wide with worry.

His paw was swatted away. A burning amber gaze looked up at him and Skypaw froze up. A flash of terror struck through him, though it had gone as quickly as it had come. What was that?

"Are you serious?" Fadingpaw's voice had a calm to it, that frankly terrified Skypaw more than any screaming voice shouting obscenities could. "They think I'm a destroyer? They think I'm going to destroy Rainclan? Is that why Birchwhisper treats me like fox-dung? Why the clan is always staring at me, pitying me? They think I'm going to grow up to be evil?! Y-You can't believe that, right?!" Fadingpaw demanding eyes bore into Skypaw's fearful ones.

Skypaw hesitated for a moment, and before he could open his mouth, Fadingpaw jerked away, already on his paws. "I can't believe it! You're buying into it! I guess moons of being the only family we've had meant nothing! I can't believe that you don't believe in it!" Skypaw could only watch as his brother angrily clawed at the ground. "I'm not evil! If… If Starclan thinks one of us is going to be evil, then they're going senile! I'm going to become leader, I'm going to lead Rainclan to greatness, I'm going to be the savior! You're too weak to any sort of… Sort of destroyer! You're too nice." Fadingpaw's breath shook as he looked over his shoulder, amber eyes glistening with tears.

"I'll prove it to you, too. I'm not evil. I'm still your brother."

"F-Fadingpaw-" Skypaw reached out with a paw, his own blue eyes streaming tears, but his paw only touched air. His brother had run off, back out into the territory. Skypaw slumped, collapsing onto the ground. He buried his face in his forelegs and he sobbed.

He didn't care if everyone had been staring or whispering amongst themselves.

He barely noticed Salmonpaw's shrieking voice, fussing over him. He barely noticed Minnowheart coming, picking him up, and helping him to the medicine cat's den, whispering into his ear.

 _"_ _It's going to be alright, Skypaw. He… Probably didn't mean it."_

Minnowheart was never great with worded comforts, was she? He didn't believe her. Fadingpaw surely meant every word. He wordlessly allowed himself to be guided into the den, all the way to the back into his nest. He slumped in his nest, curling up and tears flowing. He'd expected a bad reaction from his brother, but the reality hurt more than any unnerving fantasy. The reality cut like another cat's claws, ripping open his pelt and leaving him vulnerable and weak.

He wished Starclan had never issued that prophecy. It might be blasphemous, but Starclan should've kept their mouth shut. Maybe then, Birchwhisper would've loved them both equally. Lightningfang would've been their dad, for real, rather than some abstract idea of a father. This problem wouldn't exist and everything would be nice. Maybe he'd still be Minnowheart's apprentice. Ha….

Fadingpaw was probably right. He was too weak and nice for anything but medicine cat's work, even if Minnowheart tried to regale him with tales of why the job was hard and required strength.

He cried himself to sleep, barely noticing as his tears began to follow him into darkness.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

When Skypaw woke up, he hadn't wanted to move. He hadn't even wanted to sit up. He bet Minnowheart knew he was awake. He didn't care much. He just wanted to lay down here forever. He could hide here forever maybe. Fadingpaw wouldn't come in here. He hated needing help. So if he stayed here… He wouldn't have to…

He barely noticed the tears forming anew. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He didn't want to see anyone. He wanted to stay here. It felt like someone had dug their claws into his world and torn it to shreds. He… He'd lost Fadingpaw. Not that his brother had belonged to him but… He'd still lost him. It hurt him beyond what he could've ever imagined. He'd tried to become a medicine cat to get out of his brother's way, to make sure they could both be happy, and it'd still failed. All because of that stupid prophecy.

He barely registered Minnowheart standing over him.

"You can't stay here forever." She told him, a touch of sadness in her voice.

"Why not?" Skypaw's misery overtook his voice, infecting every aspect of his being.

"Because you have to move on." Minnowheart grabbed what was left of his kitten scruff, dragging him into an upright sitting position. He didn't fight it.

"What if I don't want to?" He whispered.

Minnowheart sat down and sighed. "Because the world is rarely so kind to allow us a chance to catch our breath, before we're being overtaken by the river of time."

"... I've had enough of cryptic words…" Skypaw murmured, looking away, the slightest touch of anger gracing his scrunched up features. The only thing he was sure he hated was prophecies. Why did Starclan give them a prophecy, if it was only going to ruin lives?

Minnowheart grunted. "You have to move on, or the world will move on without you. Time always goes on, whether you're ready or not. The clan always moves on, and the conflict of a few cannot touch the rest of the clan for long."

Skypaw looked like he was about to slump back into a laying down position when Minnowheart grabbed his scruff again, and kept him upright.

"Look, kid… There's cats who care about you. Too much to see you hide away forever." She began. "I don't want to see you getting all broken up over one little… Hiccup. Families are… Complicated. They can be as rocky and as vicious as any other relationship. I'm sure you'll be able to fix this… And if not, then you'll be able to come to terms with it." The medicine cat tried.

Skypaw's expression turned to anguish. "I don't want to come to terms with this. It's not okay, I shouldn't be okay with it."

Minnowheart bent down and rested her chin on top of his head. Skypaw flinched.

"Kid… Just… Maybe you need to let it all out." She murmured.

Skypaw choked on a sob, and his tears streamed again, as they had last night. "I-I-I j-just…. I-I can't lose him…." His pained cries came flying through and he could feel something coming from his nose, his whole face was drenched with the liquid form of his grief. "H-He won't b-believe me, he t-thinks I-I think h-he's e-evil… H-He hates m-me…!" His breaths were sharp and choppy, his panicked sadness unable to coordinate itself.

Minnowheart soothed her apprentice through it all. "It's alright… It's alright… It's alright… Shhhh…. Shhhh…." She whispered softly. Vaguely, Skypaw recalled Lilysnow doing the same for Creekpaw when they'd all been kits in the nursery, and Creekpaw had a nightmare.

He buried his face into Minnowheart's chest fur. "I-It's not alright…."

"It will be." The black and white tabby promised. "It will be. Fadingpaw loves you. You two are close. He needs some space and then he'll be ready to listen. You just need the courage to talk when the time comes." She reassured.

Skypaw felt like he didn't quite believe the hazel-eyed she-cat's words, but the words calmed him all the same, his hiccuping sobs beginning to become less frequent, his tears slowly beginning to stop. He pushed himself off of Minnowheart, wiping the last of his tears with a paw. "S-Sorry…" He felt like his voice was so small… Like how he felt in general.

"Nothing to apologize for. Never let go of your ability to express freely… Just… Make sure it's in good company, eh?" Minnowheart winked, and then suddenly had a more grumpy expression. "Good company means anyone who is not your mother."

Skypaw nodded silently. He… He would never cry in front of Birchwhisper. Wait. Did his mom know about the mess?! Suddenly panic struck through him, at the thought of what his mother would think, what would she say. He was terrified and the fear suddenly gripped his chest, and he suddenly found himself hyperventilating.

"Hey, hey, hey….!" Minnowheart called sharply, curling a tail around her apprentice. "Calm down. You don't have to deal with her. You're my apprentice, and she's disruptive to your learning. So I can make her go away." She smirked. "I promise."

Skypaw's breathing, beginning to even out again, had fresh droplets of tears at the corners of his eyes. "P-Promise…?" He looked up, glimmering blue eyes.

Minnowheart nodded. "I'm not afraid of your mother. Not that your mother isn't a terrifying she-cat. But I have to be brave. Can't be afraid of cranky cats if I'm supposed to be healing them again their will." She said, mirth dancing in her tone by the end.

Skypaw nervously chuckled. Good 'ol Minnowheart, cheering him up, while simultaneously unnerving him. Minnowheart could be scary in her own right… But he vastly preferred his mentor over his mother.

"T-Thanks….. Minnowheart." Skypaw suddenly planted his face into Minnowheart's chest fur again.

"No problem, kiddo."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Skypaw held Shinepaw's paw in his own, surveying the damage as the female apprentice looked away, looking bored as ever. She'd gotten a wrenched claw, and honestly the most surprising part was that Shinepaw had been convinced to exert enough effort to actually wrench a claw. Seeing as it was a small injury, Minnowheart had been content to allow Skypaw to attend to his friend. He looked up from Shinepaw's paw to look at his friend, who turned her head so their eyes could meet.

"It's nothing bad, just gimme a second." Skypaw gently released his friend's paw, and turned around to reach down into the herb stores. He shuffled along, searching for the brown, thick roots he was looking for.

Shinepaw tilted her head behind Skypaw's back. "You alright, Skypaw?" She asked bluntly.

Skypaw paused for a moment. Then with comfrey root in his jaws, he withdrew from the stores and turned around. Silently, he walked back over to Shinepaw and dropped the roots. "Yeah. I'm alright. Hold up your paw, please." He instructed as he picked up the roots again, chewing up the roots and doing his best to ignore the unpleasant taste. Cats were meant to eat meat, even if they could digest herbs for the purposes of healing. The roots chewed up into a poultice, he dripped the poultice from his mouth onto Shinepaw's minorly damaged paw. "Stay off it for a bit, until it feels better, okay?"

Shinepaw lowered her paw and fixed Skypaw with a stare. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, but you're avoiding it." She stated flatly. The disinterested drawl that often permeated her voice evaporated, as the black and white she-cat became deadly serious. Skypaw couldn't help his flinch.

His posture slumped as he flattened his ears, looking away. "... Yeah…" He sighed quietly. "I'm… Not really… Maybe a little? I guess it's easier to deal with, even if I'm not really okay…." He admitted.

Shinepaw yawned. "You got some time off later?" She asked.

Skypaw blinked. "Er, yeah. Why?"

Shinepaw rested her head down on her paws, crossed in front of her. "You could use some down time. Was going to go out with Cloudypaw anyways, you should come too." She meowed, her voice already returning to that lazy tone that oozed boredom.

Skypaw didn't say much of anything. It sounded… Well… He wasn't sure what to expect. He knew that sometimes Shinepaw would go out into the territory to find a nice quiet spot to nap somewhere. She'd occasionally complain about how responsibility was cutting into her nap time, so it wasn't too surprising she'd enjoy a place where there wasn't a cat trying to make her put more effort into… Anything, really.

In recent days, he supposed he'd seen Shinepaw and Cloudypaw getting along the best out of them, between the newcomers and Skypaw's own friend group. Twistpaw in general seemed to have trouble, having a little too abrasive of a personality to endear himself to his new clanmates. The medicine cat apprentice felt kind of… Bad for the ginger and white tom, since his only friend was Cloudypaw and he was surrounded by strangers. Skypaw hoped one day Twistpaw would open up, otherwise he couldn't see how the young tom would be able to stay in Rainclan. Loyalty was valued in general by all four of the clans, however Rainclan put an extra emphasis on intra-clan bonds. The golden tom could only hope Twistpaw would be able to learn before it was too late.

Skypaw nodded after a brief moment's hesitation. "Y-Yeah, okay. I'll be there. Er, should I meet you somewhere?"

Shinepaw slowly got to her paws, stretching her forelegs against the floor. "I'll already be there. Cloudypaw'll hang back by camp's entrance to take you there." With a final yawn, she padded away.

Skypaw was left watching as she left and he blinked. Hesitating briefly, he finally turned around and went deeper into the den, thinking to seek out Minnowheart to see if she had anything else for him to do.

As Shinepaw had said, Cloudypaw had been sitting by the camp's entrance, waiting for Skypaw to arrive. The golden tom did his best to greet his fellow apprentice with a smile, though he had trouble lifting his face muscles up all the way. He hoped his smile didn't look weird.

Cloudypaw smiled back, though her's seemed hesitant. It was odd…. They weren't on bad terms, but they didn't know each other very well. That wasn't to say that Skypaw knew everyone in the clan. At least, not well. However, it was different as Cloudypaw was from outside the clan, her entire background being thoroughly unrelatable to any clanborn cat.

"Hi there, Skypaw. Shinepaw asked me to wait for you here, to show you her favorite spot, where we'll be hanging out?" Her voice sounded slightly uncertain to Skypaw's ears. He wondered what she had to be so uncertain about, she was the one who hung out with Shinepaw, right?

Skypaw nodded. "Ah, yeah. I think that's the plan."

They stared at each other for a few extremely awkward moments, in Skypaw's opinion. The medicine cat apprentice cleared his throat.

"Oh!" Cloudypaw seemed to get the message, quickly turning around and beginning to walk out of camp, allowing Skypaw to follow after her.

It was a while of walking before Skypaw realized Cloudypaw was going kind of… Slow. He sped up his own pace, until he was side by side with the silvery former-loner and he could see her face.

"Why are you squinting?" Skypaw asked.

Cloudypaw sighed. "It's just… You all live in such a foggy area. It's so hard to see where I'm going… Why does your clan stay here?" She asked. It struck Skypaw suddenly how… Cloudypaw and Twistpaw really were outsiders and…. Well… Rainclan was considered weird even by the other clans due to their habits of fishing and swimming.

Skypaw thought about how to phrase his reply. "... Well… It's our home." He replied simply. "It's where each of us have been born and raised." He explained. "This territory is the land we inherited from our ancestors. It'd be disrespectful to abandon it just because it might be a little difficult to live here."

Cloudypaw didn't respond at first. Then she gently smiled with a light chuckle. "... I can see why you stay, when you say it like that. Sorry, my question was silly."

Skypaw shook his head. "No, it wasn't. It's just… You and Twistpaw aren't from here. It makes sense you'd have some issues…. Er, adjusting."

Cloudypaw looked into Skypaw's eyes. "How come you can use our new names so easily? Me and Twist- I mean Twistpaw… We're still trying to adjust to our new names…"

Skypaw looked ahead. "Well, name changes are part of growing up in Rainclan. Your names will change again when you guys get your warrior names." He explained. "And well… I didn't really know you two, so to me… Twistpaw and Cloudypaw are almost your first names to me."

Cloudypaw nodded slightly. Then she paused. "... When?" She asked, surprised.

Skypaw nodded. "Yeah. I think… You and Twistpaw have what it takes. At least, I hope you guys are able to adjust and stay with Rainclan for good. I mean, I probably don't really know, but I think clan life is better than being all alone."

"But I wasn't all alone… I had Twist…" Cloudypaw murmured.

Skypaw swallowed. "Well, yes… But you didn't have a whole clan behind you. As a clan we're all looking out for each other. When someone falters, there's other cats who can help lift up the clan while that cat recovers." He explained.

Cloudypaw seemed to think about it. "Though, I think you're a bit biased." She replied good-naturedly.

Skypaw laughed nervously. "Maybe a bit."

Cloudypaw cleared her throat. "So…. You're not a warrior apprentice?" She asked.

Skypaw quickly shook his head. "No, not me. I'm training under Minnowheart to learn to heal and read the signs from Starclan, to guide the clan." He chuckled nervously. "It's… Gonna be a big job one day. It's kind of scary to think one day I'm going to be a full medicine cat… And one day Minnowheart isn't going to be there to help me." He admitted.

Cloudypaw's eyes widened in shock. "Is Minnowheart going to die?" She asked.

Skypaw blinked before furiously shaking his head. "N-No! I mean, I hope not! I'm just saying… No cat lives forever. Minnowheart is… She won't live forever and there'll come a time where I'm still here and she…. Isn't." He sighed. He looked ahead to see where they were walking towards. The fog was less dense in this area, a thin mist blanketing the area that was easier to see through. "Is this the place?" He asked.

"Just about." Cloudypaw meowed, bounding ahead and disappearing between a pair of bushes.

Blinking his eyes, it took Skypaw a moment before he was chasing after her, and burst into a peaceful, grassy clearing where Shinepaw was curled up in the grass.

The black and white apprentice yawned. "Took you guys long enough."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"A-Ah, sorry…" Skypaw grinned sheepishly, padding forward and laying down in a spot beside Shinepaw. "Cloudypaw's…." He trailed off, looking up at Cloudypaw's face, not sure if he should share her troubles for her.

Cloudypaw was taking her own seat on the other side of Shinepaw, sitting down. "... I'm still learning how to navigate the territory… It's just… Really foggy…"

Shinepaw yawned. "Eh. You'll figure it out."

Skypaw and Cloudypaw ended up sharing a glance before lightly chucking to each other. Shinepaw had an odd way of… Brushing things to the side as if they weren't so important and sometimes… That was exactly what they needed. What Skypaw needed. For his problems to not be as big as they were, as if they were small in the face of everything.

"Do I ever tell you how much I appreciate you being there?" Skypaw asked.

Shinepaw slowly blinked, turning her head to look at him. She stared at him for a moment and Skypaw was starting to feel a little uncomfortable, as if he'd said something wrong. Then Shinepaw simply closed her eyes with a shrug. "... My mentor would call you sappy."

Skypaw shrugged. "... I think Minnowheart is trying to toughen me up?" He tried.

"... Yeah, makes sense. Most warriors are terrified of the medicine den." Shinepaw yawned.

Cloudypaw blinked. "Huh? Why would anyone be afraid of being healed? I thought it was a great thing."

"Minnowheart can be…. Intense." Skypaw told her, deciding to not call her crazy in front of her. That… Probably wouldn't be… Proper? Helpful? He couldn't put his paw on it, but he figured not being rude behind cat's backs was best.

Cloudypaw looked at her paws. "... She really did a lot for me and Twist-Twistpaw…" She said softly.

"... Yeah. She's… Always there. For me, at least. She's got a lot to teach me, but despite all the hardships her training involves… I don't think I have ever regretted choosing to train to be a medicine cat." He admitted.

"You chose it?" Cloudypaw sounded surprised. "I got the impression that a kit was simply chosen to be the medicine cat apprentice."

Shinepaw yawned again. "Blame Salmonpaw." She suggested unhelpfully. "She said you chose the medicine cat path because you're weird."

Skypaw sighed. "I'm guessing… Salmonpaw made the position sound… Boring or something?"

Cloudypaw smiled sheepishly. "She… Certainly sounded biased. Or at least… A bit assuming. I think she said all kits aspire to be warriors with no exceptions?"

Skypaw smiled softly. "I'm the exception. I guess… I think a little differently, but I really would rather heal than hurt. I… Don't think I'm the type of cat. Don't get me wrong, I love Rainclan and I want to help protect it. But I think I'd like to best do it by healing my clanmates when they fall."

"Most cats would say they'd like to have their clan not be hurt in the first place." Shinepaw murmured.

Cloudypaw nodded after a brief moment's hesitation. "W-Well… Yes. I'd rather fight to protect my friends than to wait for them to get hurt and only get to play support."

Skypaw shrugged. "... Sometimes our loved ones getting hurt is an inevitability, I guess. I think staying behind to pick up the pieces is best."

No said anything immediately in response. Shinepaw yawned finally, after a few moments of awkward silence. "That's why you're the medicine cat." She said simply.

Skypaw chuckled lightly. "I'm not a full medicine cat yet… I don't really count yet."

Shinepaw lifted her head long enough to fix Skypaw with a stare that made him flinch. "You know enough and are willing to help us out when we're hurt. You count plenty." Then her head fell back into the grass, like the amber-eyed she-cat couldn't even spare the effort to let her head down gently.

Skypaw blinked and then looked to Cloudypaw who was dragging herself by her forepaws, around Shinepaw, to get closer and whisper in Skypaw's ear. "Has she always been like this?" She asked in a whisper.

Skypaw wasn't a fan of secrets, so he answered in a normal volume. "Yeah. She's always been kind of unmotivated… But I wouldn't have her any other way."

Shinepaw gave no indication she was listening in or cared about their conversation as Cloudypaw nervously shuffled her paws. "I just… I enjoy her company, she just seems… Awfully unwilling to pull her weight."

Skypaw glanced at Shinepaw. He frowned. "She pulls her weight. I've seen her bring in prey, just like everyone else." He said, defending his friend. It didn't look like Shinepaw was a hard worker… And honestly, she wasn't. However, he knew his friend contributed to the clan like everyone else did. She wasn't a workaholic, however like… Like Fadingpaw, who always felt like he had something to prove. He wondered if Fadingpaw was more like Shinepaw then….

Shinepaw chose this exact moment to lift her head again. "Oi. Skypaw. Come back down below the treetops." She suddenly snapped.

Skypaw flinched, jerked out of his thoughts. Then he wore a sheepish smile. "Eh… Sorry, guess I spaced out a little."

Cloudypaw looked between him and Shinepaw a few times. "You two are really good for each other... " She said softly.

Shinepaw yawned and Skypaw shrugged with a nervous smile. "I guess. I think… I've got a good relationship with all my friends." He had different types of dynamics with his different friends and his friendship with Shinepaw was the easiest… But he valued his friendship with all his friends. Salmonpaw might be a little intense, but he could depend on her for honesty. Creekpaw was a little shy, but he was the more thoughtful sort like Skypaw himself.

Shinepaw groaned outwardly suddenly, causing both Cloudypaw and Skypaw to look at her. "You two are so chatty…" She complained, drawing out her words. "I called you two here to relax, the Shinepaw-way. Lay your heads down. Take a nap or just rest, I don't care." Her voice was soft, yet firm.

Skypaw and Cloudypaw shared awkward smiles once more, before they both laid on their back and side respectively as Shinepaw had commanded.

Skypaw couldn't see as he closed his eyes and simply… Rested, as his friend had requested. He wasn't really sure he wanted to sleep right now… But maybe simply laying here with friends was what he needed. He guessed… Sometimes a bit of simple rest was better than trying to distract himself all the time.

Shinepaw had a weird kind of wisdom to her that wasn't really obvious by a first glance.


	20. Chapter 20

((Little bit on the shorter side, sorry!))

Chapter 20

Skypaw wasn't sure he'd ever be really over the current estrangement with his brother, since the anxiety and fear that they'd never reconcile remained. Minnowheart assured him time and time again, conflict like this would be temporary. She claimed that as long as serious effort existed on both sides to repair the relationship, usually it worked and the bridge wouldn't be burned. Still… Skypaw couldn't help but worry.

Fadingpaw hadn't tried to speak to him once, not even sparing him a glance. Skypaw couldn't be sure, but he might even go so far as to say that the amber-eyed apprentice was actively avoiding him, best he could. Of course, his brother wouldn't be capable of hassling Sootspeck to go out if the warrior didn't want to… So, sometimes Skypaw would see Fadingpaw across camp in the mornings. Then again, Skypaw wasn't sure he was ready to talk to his brother so soon. He wasn't sure if Fadingpaw would be calm enough to talk things out… And honestly? Skypaw wasn't sure if he would either. He didn't want to break down and cry hysterically in front of Fadingpaw, and he wasn't sure Fadingpaw was ready to let go of his anger and hurt.

So… He kept his distance. In Fadingpaw's absence… Skypaw found himself sort of… Able to explore other relationships? It wasn't that before the rift between the two brothers had opened, Skypaw had no other relationships.

He liked to believe he and Minnowheart had a good, close mentor and apprentice relationship! He had his friends, it was simply…. He guessed he put most of his heart into trying to give all he could to his brother, since Fadingpaw seemed to be… Well… He needed a lot since Birchwhisper took so much from him, even when she wasn't around.

Now though… Skypaw found himself talking more to Shinepaw, and developing a friendship with Cloudypaw. Ever since that time Shinepaw dragged him and Cloudypaw out to nap in the territory, he'd been hanging out with the two female apprentices more and more. It was nice and allowed him to… Forget for a while. The two were in stark difference from Fadingpaw, and there was little to no chance of… Being reminded of what he had lost.

Salmonpaw's fire reminded Skypaw of Fadingpaw's general personality.

Creekpaw's desperation to prove himself reminded Skypaw of Fadingpaw's ambition.

Twistpaw's anger reminded Skypaw of Fadingpaw's own.

Meanwhile Cloudypaw and Shinepaw… They couldn't be more different than Skypaw's brother. So… It was safe to hang out with them.

Skypaw bit into a fish, trying to keep his eyes on Minnowheart, who was explaining her plan for the day. Since Newleaf had started, frequent swimming lessons had returned to the schedule. While there'd been some fast moving rivers that had never frozen over, his mentor had adamantly barked out her opinion that only an idiot looking to catch a cold would swim unnecessarily in Leaf-bare. However, now that it was warmer, Minnowheart was all too happy to get back to just about pushing her apprentice into the river.

"What kind of Rainclan cat can't swim like second-nature?" She'd claim cheerfully.

It wasn't that Skypaw disliked swimming or was particularly bad at it… It was just that Minnowheart seemed to believe that learning to swim never ended, even when you were already an adult with your full name and everything. Skypaw was pretty sure learning ended when you could do it just fine. Despite being Minnowheart's apprentice for four or five moons already, a lot of her motivations and thoughts were a complete mystery to the medicine cat apprentice.

Suddenly a call interrupted Minnowheart's explaining of the agenda. "Let all cats old enough to fish gather beneath the Tall Root!"

Skypaw blinked, and immediately stood up. He and Minnowheart took their place, somewhere in the back of the crowd.

Flashstar stood atop the Tall Root, his gaze was as fierce as always. Skypaw wondered if Flashstar's only emotions were irritation and determination. Below the Tall Root, Lightningfang, Twistpaw, Cedarstrike, and Needlebird stood, facing the audience instead of being a part of it. The golden-furred apprentice wondered as to the significance of it.

"Today, a patrol led by Lightningfang detected trace, yet fresh fox scent lurking around the neutral border to the north." Flashstar began. "They were unable to locate the fox, however it is possible to encounter the fox. We will attempt to chase it far away from our borders, but until then… All hunting patrols shall avoid hunting near the border." He looked down at the patrol Lightningfang had led earlier in the day. "The same patrol shall head out, substituting Twistpaw for Leopardfrost, and go out to hunt down the fox and chase it away. Otherwise, business shall continue as usual. Dismissed." With that, Flashstar dropped down from the Tall Root.

Skypaw blinked. He looked to Minnowheart.

"Don't worry Skypaw. We won't be going anywhere near the fox, I'm sure." His mentor shrugged. "Regardless…. Perhaps we might search for some cobwebs in the territory." Minnowheart rose to her paws and began padding away. After a moment of hesitation, Skypaw followed after her, trying to keep up with her pace.


	21. Chapter 21

((Double update! And this one is longer.))

Chapter 21

Despite the patrol's best efforts, that day nothing had been found. The fox had either retreated, or simply happened to be in none of the places that the patrol looked. Still, Skypaw and Minnowheart had managed to find a few pawfuls of cobwebs. Minnowheart seemed to be expecting wounds that would need to be treated in the aftermath of the confrontation with the fox.

So, Skypaw's day had gone more or less normally, the vague pulse of apprehension from the presence of a fox somewhere about Rainclan's territory aside. He'd gone to sleep and slept more or less fine. Sometimes his dreams were…. Less than kind to him, but this time they'd be relatively normal and peaceful. A dream of lazily floating down a shimmering river… It'd been nice and allowed Skypaw to wake up, feeling well-rested.

Minnowheart took the morning to drag Skypaw out for a hunting lesson, even if he was pretty sure he was well versed in hunting as well… Since it wasn't the focus of his training, he bet that even Creekpaw was better than him… Though, he was perfectly capable. He knew better than to argue with Minnowheart… The medicine cat had a way with words that allowed her to win almost every argument.

Still, as a result, Skypaw had a hearty catfish hanging from his jaws. Minnowheart had her own bass she was carrying. Though, suddenly the black and white she-cat pushed the golden apprentice into the river. Then she jumped in as well and splashed him. If there was one thing that bugged him the most about swimming lessons…. It was how spontaneous and without warning they were.

…. Well that and how Minnowheart's solution to teaching Skypaw to be a stronger and faster swimmer was nipping him in the leg when possible, if he couldn't swim away fast enough.

It was just after Sunhigh when Minnowheart finally called it, the two medicine cats crawling out of the river.

Minnowheart shook her pelt, water flying off easily. As Rainclan cats, they had sleek pelts that water practically slid off of. It lended itself well to the Rainclanner's drying themselves off easier. "I think it's time to head back to camp." She announced.

Skypaw let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Starclan…"

Minnowheart suddenly started smirking mischievously. "Oh? I thought you liked my lessons?"

Skypaw groaned. "I prefer it when you're not using incentive to make me work harder…"

Skypaw was only rising to his paws when suddenly Salmonpaw burst onto the scene from the bushes. Instantly, the white-furred apprentice's fur was standing on end and Skypaw braced himself to be yelled at.

"What the hell are you two doing?! Having a water fight?! At a time like this?! You two make me so mad! Aaargh!" She shrieked.

Minnowheart looked like she was about to open her mouth to sass and probably take revenge for being talked to like that by an apprentice, when Skypaw decided to cut in loudly to prevent any fighting. "Salmonpaw! What are you doing here?"

Salmonpaw stomped angrily. "Because you two are needed in camp! Your Dad told me to come and get you two losers! The fox wasn't where it was supposed to be and it attacked a hunting patrol! They're fine, but Creekpaw might lose his eye if you don't get your stupid butts back to camp right now!" She screeched.

That explained why she was so angry. Salmonpaw was rather intense at best of times, but there was no doubting that she cared for both of her siblings, even if one was lazy Shinepaw and the other was nervous Creekpaw.

Minnowheart's gaze suddenly turned serious. "Alright." Without another word, Minnowheart was off. Skypaw, without missing a beat ran after.

Salmonpaw took a moment before she followed. "A-Argh! Don't go acting so cool when you two are the stupid ones!"

The run back to camp was… Well… Intense! He felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest! Aside from little minor injuries that could be expected from day to day, Skypaw had never really dealt with an injured cat! It sounded like Creekpaw's eye was damaged by the fox, and the golden apprentice sincerely hoped his friend didn't lose the eye altogether. It would be horrible for Creekpaw's confidence, even if he was sure that Creekpaw would survive and still be able to be a warrior. He wondered who else was on the patrol… He felt a pang in his chest. He hoped it wasn't Fadingpaw, Cloudypaw, or Shinepaw! He knew Faithwhisper was probably on the patrol as well, since she was Creekpaw's mentor. He could only hope no one he loved dearly was too injured…

Other than Salmonpaw's constant ranting that Minnowheart and Skypaw were total minnow-brains… The run back was silent, save for the pounding of their feet against the earth, and splashing of the puddles they ran through.

When they burst back into camp, the two medicine cats made a beeline for their den. Waiting for them was Creekpaw, sobbing grossly into Fadingpaw's shoulder, and probably getting blood, snot, and tears all into the latter's fur. The silver tabby looked decidedly uncomfortable, but still trying to comfort Creekpaw best he could. "E-Erm… It's not that bad! Besides… Scars are cool…?!" He didn't sound all too convincing.

Skypaw swallowed. He didn't expect this to be the turn of events. A quick glance over, Fadingpaw seemed fine however, aside from a few scratches and… His tail looked to have been bitten.

Sootspeck looked to be the worst out of them, two major bite wounds in his back and shoulder. He was on the ground complaining about it to Faithwhisper, who seemed bruised with a few cuts.

Skypaw bit his lip.

Minnowheart began speaking. "Skypaw. I will tend to Sootspeck. I need you to attend to Creekpaw first. Then take care of your brother and Faithwhisper." She ordered. Then she moved forward, and gently shoved Faithwhisper aside, apparently assessing the damage. Then she immediately reached for cobwebs to stall the bleeding. Skypaw was reasonably sure it probably wasn't fatal but… He could only hope that Fadingpaw's mentor came out of this encounter alright.

He moved to Creekpaw and Fadingpaw. "I can take him." He said, trying best to invoke his inner Minnowheart, trying to be brave like she was. Fadingpaw looked up and seemed hesitant, before finally pushing the distraught apprentice towards the medicine cat of the two brothers.

"Hey, hey… Creekpaw… Don't worry. Just hold on a bit…." Skypaw soothed, and Creekpaw at the very least had stopped sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm going to be blind! I'm totally useless…!" He wailed. He wasn't done complaining, apparently.

Skypaw wondered if it'd be rude to point out that at worst, Creekpaw would be half-blind since his other eye was undamaged. Instead, he grabbed goldenrod and cobwebs, carrying them over to Creekpaw.

"Hold still." Skypaw asked. He picked up the goldenrod and began chewing it into a poultice in his mouth. Then he began dripping the produced poultice onto Creekpaw's eye. Skypaw winced at the shrieking, but was thankful for when Fadingpaw stepped in, holding Creekpaw still, hissing out "Didn't you hear him say 'stay still'?!"

Skypaw remembered that day…. When Fadingpaw called him weak. Apparently at least his brother respected his healing skills, of what Minnowheart had taught him at least.

Creekpaw's pained wails devolved into whimpering.

Fadingpaw groaned. "Somehow I doubt Faithwhisper was the perfect mentor for you…" He grumbled.

Skypaw reached for the cobwebs, to wrap them around Creekpaw's head, concentrating them on Creekpaw's damaged eye. "You should be set now. Just… Don't poke it." He advised.

"G-Great. We can leave then!" Fadingpaw said a little too hurriedly, trying to usher Creekpaw outside when Skypaw forced his fear down, going forward to place a paw on Fadingpaw's chest.

"He can. You can't. I need to check you over for infection." Skypaw said firmly, with all the confidence he didn't feel.

Fadingpaw growled at him, and it took everything that Skypaw had to not shrink away. "I'm fine!"

"Your tail isn't. Lemme see…!" Skypaw insisted, and Fadingpaw begrudgingly allowed Skypaw to tend to his wounds. The golden-furred apprentice used the same goldenrod-cobweb combination for Fadingpaw's tail, though due to the lesser damage of his various cuts, the cobwebs weren't necessary for the minor cuts.

"Done." Skypaw announced when he applied the poultice to the last of Fadingpaw's cuts.

"Can I go now?" Fadingpaw asked irritably.

"... Yeah, sure." Skypaw said finally, looking away.

Without another word, Fadingpaw left the medicine cat's den, dragging Creekpaw out with him.

Skypaw sighed, and looked to see that Faithwhisper had come of her own accord. "I'm guessing I'm next?" She asked softly.

Skypaw could only nod, and he began to tend to her, giving a similar treatment to Fadingpaw's. She was mostly only bruised and cut in a few places. The bruises could be left alone and would heal fine, and he only needed a poultice for the cuts.

Though, as he worked, Faithwhisper spoke to him. "I'm sorry that things got bad between you and Fadingpaw. I'm sure you'll reconcile one day… When you're both ready. I hope you'll be able to forgive him. Thank you for helping him, even when he's been unkind to you. You're a special kind of cat Skypaw."

Skypaw didn't answer to a single word Faithwhisper said. Recognizing her conversation to be unwanted, when the older she-cat was done, she left without another word.

By this time, Minnowheart was finishing up with Sootspeck. Well, she'd been done with him for a while… She was actually arguing with him.

"Couldn't you have helped your clanmates without nearly getting killed?!" Minnowheart did not suffer fools lightly.

"... Get off my back." Sootspeck grumbled in response.

"Oh yes, I'll get off your back as you bleed to death!"

This had been going on for a while, but Minnowheart finally left Sootspeck in a spare nest. She sighed and addressed Skypaw. "This idiot's injured enough that we need to keep him here and keep an eye on him. Watch for infection or his wounds getting worse. At least he's not the type to go prancing around, reopening all his wounds…" With the way Minnowheart was speaking, Skypaw had a feeling that the hazel-eyed medicine cat was a little too familiar with the type of patient she was describing.

Like he'd been hit with a rock, Skypaw realized Fadingpaw was probably that kind of patient. He really hoped the silver tabby wouldn't open his tail and bleed to death out in the territory. He… Wasn't sure he could talk to Fadingpaw himself… Maybe he could ask Salmonpaw to….

As he turned away and stepped a single step out of the medicine cat's den, the aforementioned apprentice was suddenly in his face.

"What the hell, Skypaw?! I brought you here to save his eye, not cover up the damage!" She shouted, barely an inch between their faces.

Skypaw flinched and then took a deep breath. He tried harder to invoke the spirit of his mentor's courage in the face of cranky patients and even grouchier relatives. "His eye was struck by the fox. There was no saving it. I'm not a miracle worker."

Salmonpaw made a noise of frustration and rapidly turned around, kicking up dirt as she did so. "It's not fair!" She snarled.

Skypaw stepped forward and sat down next to her. "He might be half-blind now… But he'll still be a warrior." He said.

Salmonpaw's head snapped to the side. "But he's lost an eye!"

"He might have to… Adapt… But that's still one eye still undamaged and functioning fine. He'll be fine. He'll be a warrior." Skypaw promised.

"But how can you know that?! You know, Creekpaw's already messed up in the head enough, he doesn't need this!" Salmonpaw screamed. When Skypaw saw the tears in her eyes, he realized how upset Salmonpaw really was.

Skypaw took up and pressed his forehead to Salmonpaw's, as a gesture of comfort. "Salmonpaw. Creekpaw just needs to know he's still the same… He can still do everything he wants… He can be everything he wants to be… I'm sure if anyone, you'll be able to make him believe that." He promised.

Salmonpaw choked back a sob. "I-I'm just worried about him, y'know?"

Skypaw nodded. "... He'll be fine. With a sister like you, I'm sure he'll be great."

Salmonpaw smiled and suddenly playfully shoved him a little.

"H-Hey!" Skypaw cried.

"Man, you got all weird and mature now! Is it a medicine cat thing? Is it a Starclan thing?" She pressed.

Skypaw hesitated. "Um… I think it's a…. Thing."

Salmonpaw pouted. "And now it's gone! Jeez, you were almost cool."

Skypaw stared. "Why is that important?" Then he shook his head. "A-Anyway… Can you do me a favor? Can you keep an eye on Fadingpaw? I feel like there's a pretty strong chance he might… Reopen his tail wound and start bleeding out again."

Salmonpaw nodded fervently, with a wide grin. "You bet I can! I'll drag his stupid butt back to camp if he even thinks of being a mousebrain!"

Before Skypaw could thank her, Flashstar's call rang out.

"Let all cats old enough to fish gather beneath the Tall Root!"

Another clan meeting so soon…? Skypaw wondered what it could be about.


	22. Chapter 22

((I'm on a bit of a roll today, so I wrote a third chapter for the day. Hopefully will make up for my possible troubles writing in the near future.))

Chapter 22

As Skypaw settled between Minnowheart and Shinepaw, turning his eyes up to see where Flashstar stood atop his perch. At least this time he wasn't scowling furiously, as if someone had thrown crowfood in his face. He seemed…. Happy? Skypaw wasn't too sure if that was the proper word for the expression adorning his leader's face.

"Fadingpaw. Step forward." The leader of Rainclan commanded.

Skypaw swallowed. Was this…? He watched as his brother stepped forward as Flashstar had requested, standing proud…. Though, was it Skypaw's imagination or was Fadingpaw's tail twitching ever so slightly….?

"Sootspeck tells me that you bravely fought the fox that trespassed upon our territory." He began. "I believe that your contribution to the victory over the fox is a sign that your warrior ceremony should not be held off any longer! I, Flashstar, lead of Rainclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look upon this apprentice. He has trained hard to prove himself worthy of a warrior name, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Fadingpaw, do you promise to uphold our code and to protect this clan and our values, even at the cost of your life?" He asked. This was the question posed to every warrior in Rainclan.

Skypaw would be asked different questions, however… The medicine cat vows would be posed to him by Minnowheart when she deemed him ready. Honestly, he wondered when that would be.

Fadingpaw seemed to hesitate for just a moment. "I promise."

Flashstar nodded. "Then by the powers invested in me by Starclan, I grant you your warrior name. Shed your old name Fadingpaw, and be known as Fadingfire. We honor your determination and resilience. We welcome you as a true warrior of Rainclan." Flashstar dropped down from the Tall Root as Skypaw's brother hurriedly bowed his head.

Then he lifted his head to gently touch foreheads with Flashstar. Skypaw guessed he should get used to referring to him as Fadingfire. This meant that Fadingfire was the first of their friends to get their full name. Even after everything… Skypaw knew his brother deserved it most. He was the most hard-working out of all of them, even more than energetic Salmonpaw, even more than Creekpaw who wanted to prove himself as well…. Er, as for Shinepaw… She did her part, true but… Even Skypaw wouldn't consider her hard-working exactly…

Then the clan began calling out. "Fadingfire! Fadingfire! Fadingfire!" Their voices melted into a single cry of celebration for Rainclan's newest warrior. It took a moment before Skypaw's voice joined them.

Skypaw was smiling for his brother. He was happy and hoped that gaining his warrior name ahead of everyone else his age would help him… Perhaps find some closure and realize he had nothing to prove. Then somehow… His gaze drifted and he found himself looking at Creekpaw, who…. He was looking down. He wasn't calling out Fadingfire's name. The cries had died out by now, and Flashstar was undoubtedly explaining the silent vigil to his brother. Skypaw found his paws carrying him to the half-blind apprentice.

"Hey, Creekpaw. You doing alright?" He pressed softly.

Creekpaw looked up and didn't even try to smile. Creekpaw often tried to be stronger than he was but… Skypaw figured he must be feeling pretty horrible if he wasn't even trying to hide his hurt. "A-Ah… Skypaw…. I-I dunno I just…" Creekpaw's tail flicked back and forth, curling around his paws to behind him and back. "It's just… Fadingpaw's Fadingfire now…. All I've got is a ruined eye…." Creekpaw sounded absolutely miserable.

Skypaw felt a pang. He realized how unfair it must be. While… This was kind of something that Fadingfire had really needed, Creekpaw would've benefited just as much. Despite being near opposites in demeanor, Creekpaw and Fadingfire were rather similar. They both wanted to prove themselves as warriors for one reason or another. The stormy-eyed apprentice wanted to show he could be more than his anxiety, and Fadingfire had wanted to show everyone he wasn't the destroyer from the prophecy.

"Hey, Creekpaw. You'll make it to warrior, I'm sure. It's just going to take a little longer… Besides, Fadingfire is… A special case, I guess. Most everyone is closer to twelve moons old before they get their name right? I'm probably going to have my apprentice name for even longer, just until Minnowheart decides I'm ready. It could be when she's old and gray!" Skypaw tried to inject some humor into his words, trying to cheer up Creekpaw. It didn't work. Skypaw sighed.

The medicine cat apprentice glanced over to Fadingfire. Today wouldn't work…. But…. For Creekpaw's sake, Skypaw would have to suck it up and confront Fadingfire tomorrow, after his brother's vigil. He didn't want to have to do it but… He needed to. He could only hope his courage wouldn't leave him and he wouldn't freeze up or anything.

Skypaw took a deep breath. He could only hope everything would be fine and the rift between him and his brother would burn with all the pain of when it first appeared.

The next day, Skypaw was sure to catch Fadingfire as soon as possible, so his brother couldn't duck out. Before the silver tabby could move anywhere as his vigil was done, Skypaw cut him off. "We need to talk." The medicine cat apprentice said with finality. He once more, did his best to channel his inner Minnowheart, to feel all the confidence in his own words that she did, that he didn't.

"What about?" Fadingfire asked, flicking an ear.

"Creekpaw." Skypaw said flatly.

"What about him? Is he whining about his lost eye or something?" Fadingfire sounded almost annoyed with him.

"No! It's not Creekpaw exactly, it's more like how you're treating him." Skypaw clarified.

"Treating him? I'm not being mean to him or anything!" The silver tabby defended.

"You're still hurting him. He lost an eye while you've got your warrior name, now. You have to admit, it's a little harmful that you don't seem to care about his scars at all." Skypaw pushed, trying to imagine Minnowheart pushing him on, to say all the things that need to be said. To do what must be done, because if you don't do something then it will never get done.

Fadingfire turned his head. "It's not my fault he didn't help enough to warrant an early name like I did. I guess I've just got the guts that make the difference."

"So what? You're better than him or something?" Skypaw questioned, his tone becoming incredulous.

"I-I don't know! Maybe! I'm the one who put in so much hard work! I put in more effort than anyone! I deserve this! Not Creekpaw!" Fadingfire shot back furiously.

"Creekpaw deserves validation just as much as you do!" Skypaw squashed down the urge to turn tail and run from Fadingfire's ire.

"He's not the one with a prophecy hanging over his head! He doesn't know that kind of pressure, doesn't know what it's like! I don't know why he's so desperate, he already has everything he could ever want!" Fadingfire shouted in Skypaw's face.

He couldn't help the step back he took. "W-Were you really fighting the fox to protect everyone?! Or were you just looking to prove you were strong?!" Skypaw demanded, hardly knowing what he was saying.

Fadingfire looked like he'd been slapped. "T-That…! What does that have to do with anything?! So what if I was trying to prove myself?! I still protected them!"

"Sootspeck was still hurt! He was bitten! Twice! What were you doing while he was getting hurt?! You didn't protect your own mentor, yet you claim to have protected them!" Skypaw didn't need to hold onto his courage derived from Minnowheart, his own frustration at Fadingfire's insensitivity fuelling his shouting just fine.

"You're all just jealous I've gotten strong! I-I don't need to prove myself anymore! I know I'm the best and y-you all just don't want to see it! I'm going to be leader someday, and you're going to regret every bad thing you ever said to me!" The amber-eyed tom screamed before storming off.

As Skypaw watched his brother walk off, he suddenly noticed his own tension. His face felt tight, his teeth was clenched, and his own claws were unsheathed and digging into the ground. His shoulders felt too tight and his heart was pounding out of his chest. He didn't feel capable of loosening up at the moment.

He couldn't believe Fadingfire… What had happened to his brother? He'd cared once… Even if he had ambitions, he'd used to care about more than himself and how others saw him…. Unable to stomach simply sitting around, stewing in his thoughts, he walked off. He didn't care about telling Minnowheart where he was going….

He could take care of himself for a few hours.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Skypaw sighed. Of the cats who appeared the most in the medicine cat den, it wasn't all too surprising that they were the more fiery cats of the clan, such as Salmonpaw, Twistpaw, and Morningglow. This time, Twistpaw was the one who landed himself in front of Skypaw. The grouchy apprentice's head was bleeding, a thin stream of blood leaking down the side of his head. Twistpaw huffed, his ears folded back.

"I don't need to be here." He grumbled, clearly not keen on… Well… Everything.

Skypaw sighed. "... Well, you didn't hit your head too hard from what I see, so yes… This probably isn't that necessary. But it'll be better for you." He said, hurriedly adding his last statement, when Twistpaw seemed ready to argue for his release.

Thankfully, the ginger and white tom shut his mouth and settled for grouchy stares. So, Skypaw was free to grab some cobwebs from the medicine cat stores, and wrap some around Twistpaw's head to stall the bleeding. "So… Want to tell me what happened?"

Twistpaw huffed, turning his head, earning a gentle swat from Skypaw. "I don't have to tell you." He said, almost whining.

Skypaw fought the urge to groan. Ever since he'd been helping out more and more with the actual healing of the clan's day to day injuries… Especially on his own… He was beginning to understand why Minnowheart mouthed off as much as she did. He was sure he'd be more or less like Minnowheart when his training was done, an aftereffect of dealing with countless ungrateful clanmates who made his job harder than it needed to be. "No, you don't. But I'd like to know. It'd be nice if you opened up." He pressed.

Twistpaw lost his temper. "You're sounding exactly like Cloudy!" He hissed. "I don't need to open up if I don't want to!"

"Her name is Cloudypaw, remember?" He said calmly. Oddly… Despite all his urges to shrink away seemed to only apply to Fadingfire's ire. Skypaw wondered if it was because Twistpaw was… Well, despite having lived in Rainclan for quite some time now… The medicine cat apprentice hardly knew a thing about the temperamental tom-cat, aside from the obvious er… Character flaw.

Twistpaw jerked his head to the side, just in time. Skypaw had only finished the cobweb wrap about Twistpaw's head. "... Yeah. I know." He didn't sound too happy about it.

Skypaw bit his lip. He was… Reasonably sure that no one had brought up the danger of Twistpaw's attitude. Maybe he should be the one to say it? It felt like a secret they shouldn't be keeping. Then again… If the medicine cat apprentice told the ginger tom, he might try to force himself into an attitude change and… That wasn't right. If Twistpaw was really to stay, his change needed to be genuine.

"... Why are you still here?" Skypaw asked instead.

Twistpaw jerked his head back to glare at Skypaw. To his credit, he only slightly winced. "What, you want me to leave or something?!" He hissed, clearly his already low opinion of Skypaw plummeting.

Skypaw's folded back his ears. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant… You don't seem very happy here. We're not stopping you from leaving…." He pointed out.

Twistpaw huffed. "I thought you guys were all about this… Teamwork and cooperation mouse-dung? I…." He looked away again. "I can't leave Cloudy… Cloudypaw. She's been my best friend for as long as I can remember. Plus I can't…. I can't take care of my little cousin all by myself." He sighed. "As much as I'd hate to admit it… This really is the best place for what's left of our families…"

Skypaw's ears slowly rose back up. "... I think… Everyone's wrong…" He said slowly.

Twistpaw glared at Skypaw. "What do you mean?"

Skypaw wasn't sure how to phrase it, but he decided to try anyway. "I think… You really do fit into Rainclan. Me and my friends… We were a bit worried you wouldn't be able to stay, since you didn't seem like you were adjusting well."

Twistpaw instantly got offended. His fur stood on end as he stood up, spitting venom. "What the fox-dung is that supposed to mean?!"

Skypaw's ears folded back again. "I mean it's just… You haven't really formed friendships here…" He said.

Twistpaw huffed and looked away. "So maybe I don't want to dive in, and be friends on sight." He grumbled. "... I don't mind that brother of your's, Fadingfire. Or that… Girl Salmonpaw. Plus, Cloudy tells me you and that lazy she-cat aren't so bad. So maybe I don't want to show how happy I am all the time."

Skypaw thought carefully. "Maybe you should try telling that someone other than Cloudypaw. Any of the clans values teamwork and loyalty. For Rainclan? We take further and to us… Love is the most important."

Twistpaw wrinkled up his nose. "What, like taking mates is like sacred to you guys or something?"

Skypaw instantly shook his head. "What? No. I meant like… Any sort of love. Between families. Platonic love between friends. I mean, romantic love counts as well but… For us, bonds are integral to Rainclan. Does that sound better?"

Twistpaw stared down at his paws. "... I guess that makes more sense. I think… I see it."

Skypaw cleared his throat, daring to move forward and sit down next to Twistpaw. "Communication is… Pretty important. No one can read your mind and you kind of… Come off a bit like you hate everyone except for Cloudypaw and the kits." He turned his head to look at Twistpaw, who finally met his eyes.

Twistpaw's striking yellow eyes met the ocean of calm in Skypaw's own.

The normally fiery tom deflated a little bit. "... I don't hate anyone. I was a little frustrated Cloudy and I couldn't make it on our own… But this really was a better alternative than starving alone… Watching our family wither away… You've all been really nice, kinda. It's hard to deal with." He admitted. Then he huffed. "I guess I can try to….. Talk." He forced out the word, like it was as hard as trying to hunt a fish three times his size.

Skypaw couldn't help but smile. Twistpaw grimaced. "Okay, okay… Stop being all weird and mushy." He grumbled, pushing Skypaw away gently with a paw. "So, is my head head fine?" He questioned.

Skypaw nodded. "Yeah. You should be fine. Just be careful and rest up for a bit before doing anything too active! Come back if you get headaches! And… I'd like to know how your talks go?" He asked with a hopeful smile.

Twistpaw stared for one more moment, before turning head away and muttering. "Yeah, yeah…. Whatever…." Then the ginger tom padded away, leaving Skypaw.

Seems like Twistpaw got pretty embarrassed about displays of affection, even simple ones like smiles, from anyone that wasn't Cloudypaw or one of the kits. Funny.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Skypaw had seen Creekpaw get dragged out of camp by his sister Salmonpaw, with Snowyash whispering into Faithwhisper's ear, as soon as Creekpaw had been cleared for active duties again. From what he knew of them, he figured that Creekpaw likely would've holed up in his nest and weeped for… Well, possibly for a really long time, mourning his lost eye. Salmonpaw knew this as well, and was probably manhandling Creekpaw as she dragged her brother of his den, probably to go out and re-learn hunting and battle except with only one eye. Of course their mentors would come along, the apprentices needing supervision by adults.

Actually, there's been a day between Creekpaw being cleared and Salmonpaw's intervention. Faithwhisper had failed to coax Creekpaw out, and had given up training for that day. Apparently, Salmonpaw was infinitely less patient with her brother's inaction than his mentor was. When Skypaw asked the fiery female apprentice about it, she'd told him that Creekpaw needed to relearn everything as soon as possible to win back his confidence. Skypaw couldn't fault her logic. While it was a little soon and harsh... Creekpaw wouldn't be back to his old self, until he got some evidence that his life wasn't ruined, it wasn't going to drastically change.

Still…. As the day wound down, the light slowly fading from the world, Skypaw figured he should use some of his free time to go talk to Creekpaw… Make sure the tom was alright and everything.

As Skypaw poked his head out of the medicine cat's den, he looked to see Creekpaw… By the fresh-kill pile, moping and eating a fish at the same time. He guessed at least Creekpaw was outside the apprentice's den, even if he still seemed rather down.

The golden-furred apprentice moved to the fresh-kill pile and laid down next to the downtrodden tom. Skypaw swallowed and looked to Creekpaw. The newly half-blind apprentice's folded ears rose slightly, as he turned his head and sat up a bit.

"O-Oh…. Skypaw… Hi there…" Creekpaw said quietly.

"... So, uh… How are you doing?" Skypaw asked gently. He didn't think diving straight into the crux of the problem was a good idea, even if the medicine cat apprentice knew exactly what was wrong.

Creekpaw shrugged. "F-Fine I guess…."

Skypaw sighed. Creekpaw's self confidence had been a precarious thing even before the blinding in one eye. With this… Honestly, the golden tom supposed they should've seen this coming. He wasn't sure where it started, but he could always remember Creekpaw as quiet, nervous, but oh so desperate to prove himself. He wasn't sure what there was to prove, or to whom… But that ambition was there. As for now….

"I dunno… Doesn't look like it." Skypaw said slowly.

Creekpaw seemed to almost melt to the ground and Skypaw's own ears drooped. Was that mean? He didn't mean for his words to be unkind. He really hoped he wasn't catching Minnowheart's problem with being a little too blunt without remorse.

Creekpaw turned onto his side. "... I just… I don't think anything's going to change…"

That was a start. "... Things don't change overnight, y'know?" Skypaw replied. His own thoughts drifted to his own… Experiences. "It's… Pretty hard at first, but you just sort of… Gotta keep going. It… It doesn't really stop sucking. You just kind of learn to focus on other things…" He said, not noticing how his gaze slowly drifted off of Creekpaw and to the side.

"I-I don't see how I can focus on a-anything else… I lost half my s-sight…" Creekpaw said miserably. "It's not s-something I-I can j-just…." He sighed.

Skypaw pawed at the ground, gently making marks in the dirt with his claws. "... What will happen if you don't?"

"Don't what?" Creekpaw asked.

"If you don't keep going? If you stay here, and you just… Stay behind, and everyone else moves on. Salmonpaw and Shinepaw eventually take their warrior names. Maybe Faithwhisper will have let go of your apprenticeship, because you aren't…. Trying." He closed his eyes, and hoped to Starclan this wasn't too harsh. "What do you think will happen."

Skypaw heard a gasp, and when he looked, Creekpaw had suddenly jerked up to a sitting position.

"I-I….." The apprentice's gray eyes were staring forward, wide open, and Skypaw was a little worried that his words had broken Creekpaw.

The apprentice shook his head fiercely. "I don't want that to happen! I don't want to be left behind!" He said fiercely, his voice sounding more sure than Skypaw could ever recall.

A soft smile graced the medicine cat apprentice's lips. "Your future isn't as over as you think. You might need some reminding… But… You're going to be every bit a warrior as anyone else in Rainclan." He gently moved to help Creekpaw up to a standing position. The previously-kind-of-pitiful apprentice let him.

"T-Thanks, Skypaw…. Faithwhisper and Salmonpaw keep telling me the s-same thing…" Creekpaw's smile turned sheepish. "Erm… Faithwhisper doesn't e-er… She's not pushy enough and Salmonpaw is…. Y-Y'know…" He trailed off, but Skypaw knew what was being said.

It seemed like Skypaw's dose of friendly, yet pushy advice was what he needed. He nodded. "Yeah. I know."

Creekpaw's tail wavered uncertainly behind him. "Y-You… Wouldn't mind coming out with me s-sometime…? Y'know to uh… Watch me train…? I'd feel a lot better if you were there supporting me…." He said softly.

Skypaw tilted his head thoughtfully. "Uh… Well, maybe if Minnowheart gives me free time that lets me. But I'll make it work. I promise."

Suddenly Creekpaw rushed forward, wrapped around Skypaw's neck in a hug. "T-Thanks…" The black and white apprentice murmured into Skypaw's fur…. Though, it was still intelligible enough to tell what he was saying.

"No problem…." Skypaw whispered back, hugging his friend back.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Everything seemed to settle into a regular routine. After the circumstances of Fadingfire gaining his warrior name a little earlier, nothing particularly noteworthy happened. Skypaw's days were filled with training as usual, mostly with Minnowheart pushing Skypaw to get more and more involved with more major injuries. Though, most injuries tended to be minor. It was Greenleaf, and Minnowheart claimed that there wouldn't be much in the way of illness either, at least not until Leaf-fall rolled around again.

So, most of Skypaw's training consisted of him and Minnowheart going out and gathering as many herbs as they could… While still leaving room for more to grow and not bleed their stocks dry. Of course, they could only pick so many. So, Minnowheart began giving more focus to teaching Skypaw hunting and some basic battle skills… Well, she'd already started, however she wanted to make sure they were ingrained. She said that being a medicine cat was no excuse for being incompetent as a cat. They might've chosen a different path, however that was no excuse to being unable to hunt or defend himself. Though, Minnowheart claimed there would always be those who would be dishonorable and attack a medicine cat.

He spent his free time…. Somewhat avoiding Fadingfire, while still trying to talk to his friends. He found it harder to find time to talk to Twistpaw sometimes, because his brother was sort of… Hogging the ginger apprentice's time. He guessed it was because of the cats their age who got along with Fadingfire easily… Salmonpaw was angry at Fadingfire for letting Creekpaw get hurt and apparently not caring, while Creekpaw wasn't angry exactly… But Skypaw didn't think Creekpaw really knew what he felt other than he didn't want to be around Fadingfire.

Mostly, Skypaw spent time getting closer to Cloudypaw and Shinepaw. He still made an effort to spend plenty of time with Creekpaw and Salmonpaw, following up on his promise to help support Creekpaw through his adjustment to losing half his sight. The black and white apprentice had stumbled at first, but he eventually did regain some of confidence and learn how to move and fight with only one eye. Skypaw hoped that Creekpaw might one day find his ability to fight with only one eye a source of pride.

Regardless, things seemed to be looking up. For the most part, nevermind that the only thing that wasn't looking up was the one thing Skypaw wished it was. Salmonpaw was still rather pushy, but at least wasn't forcing herself into Creekpaw's training sessions anymore. Twistpaw had seemed to loosen up visibly, beginning to convince others that Twistpaw was serious about staying. Cloudypaw seemed to be adjusting better as well, smiling with less awkwardness every day. Shinepaw was…. Still Shinepaw, but Skypaw wasn't sure she'd ever change. Or if he'd even want her to.

Skypaw was laying on top of the root that served as one of two walls of the medicine cat's den, when Flashstar called out for a meeting.

"Let all cats old enough to fish gather beneath the Tall Root!"

Skypaw took his place near the back, never wanting to be in the middle of the crowd. After the clan had gathered before the Tall Root, Flashstar looked over the crowd, then briefly nodded to himself.

"Salmonpaw, Shinepaw, Creekpaw, Twistpaw, Cloudypaw. Step forward." The leader of Rainclan commanded.

Skypaw could see the various reactions of his friends. Twistpaw and Cloudypaw looked to each other before stepping forward. Shinepaw yawned, which caused Flashstar's eye to twitch ever so slightly. Salmonpaw seemed about to explode in excitement. Creekpaw seemed similarly excited, though with an element of anxiety tied to it.

Flashstar looked between Salmonpaw, Shinepaw, and Creekpaw. "Your mentors, Snowyash, Faithwhisper, and Morningglow, all tell me you three have trained hard to learn the ways of being a Rainclan warrior. I believe it is time for you to bear the name to match your skills. I, Flashstar, leader of Rainclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look upon these three young apprentices. They have all trained hard to prove themselves worthy of the warrior title, and I commend them all as warriors in their turns. Salmonpaw, Shinepaw, Creekpaw. Do you promise to uphold our code and to protect this clan and our values, even at the cost of your life?" He asked.

Salmonpaw and Creekpaw both answered immediately.

"I do!"

"I-I promise."

Shinepaw seemed determined to ever so slightly irk their leader at every opportunity. She shrugged and only said, "Sure."

Flashstar pointedly ignored Shinepaw's usual bout of disrespect. "Then by the powers invested in me by Starclan, I grant you your warrior names. From today on, you shall be known as Salmonmist, Creekpool, and Shinestream. We honor your compassion and dedication. We welcome you all as true warriors of Rainclan." Then he looked to Twistpaw and Cloudypaw.

"Your mentors as well, have told me that you have trained hard. Exceptionally hard, to learn the ways and values of Rainclan, to join us and embrace Rainclan as your new home. We agree that it is time for you to receive your warrior names. I, Flashstar, leader of Rainclan, call upon my warrior ancestors, to look upon these two apprentices. They have trained hard to prove themselves as genuine in their path to truly join Rainclan, and I commend them as warriors to you in their turns. Twistpaw, Cloudypaw. Do you promise to uphold our code and to protect this clan and our values, even at the cost of your life?"

Twistpaw nodded immediately. "I do."

"I promise." Cloudypaw replied softer, however just as resolute.

Flashstar nodded. "Then by the powers invested in me by Starclan, I grant you your warrior names. You shall be known as Cloudyflame and Twistflight. We honor your loyalty and resolve. We welcome you both… As true warriors of Rainclan."

As Flashstar dropped from the Tall Root, all the newly named warriors bowed their heads. It appeared the meeting and all the ceremonies were over. Wow. All of Skypaw's friends had been named at once.

Then the calls rang out from the clan, cheering on the new warriors. "Salmonmist! Creekpool! Shinestream! Twistflight! Cloudyflame!" Repeating over and over, loudly and enthusiastically. Skypaw joined in as well.

Now… He was the only one without their full name among his age group. Though, he didn't mind. He didn't think it'd change anything major. He was only happy for his friends.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Only a moon had passed when Flashstar called the clan to gather again. Skypaw guessed it had to do with the kits only in name still in the nursery. The kits that Twistflight and Cloudyflame had brought in were actually older than six moons at this point. Skypaw wondered what Flashstar's reasons were for the delay. Could it be because they needed more time to adjust to clan life, or Flashstar decided that six moons old meant six moons of living in the clan for outsiders? The medicine cat apprentice supposed either rationale was fairly plausible.

After Flashstar's call to meet beneath his perch atop the Tall Root, as Skypaw had predicted, he called forth Mirrorkit, Peachkit, Pearlkit, and Silverkit.

"You four came to Rainclan as kits, unfamiliar with ours ways. Six moons have passed, and you have learned our values, our beliefs, and have come to accept the way we think. Now, you shall learn to accept the way we act, and begin your warrior training."

The sharp-eyed leader focused his gaze onto Mirrorkit first. Skypaw could see the young she-kit stiffen slightly, tensing up under scrutinization. "Mirrorkit, from this day on, until you receive your true name you shall be known as Mirrorpaw." Flashstar looked to Salmonmist. Skypaw blinked in surprise. The loud she-cat had only been a warrior for a moon, and she was already being given an apprentice? He guessed Flashstar thought she was ready… Or it'd be good for the both of them. Minnowheart claimed that an apprenticeship benefited both mentor and apprentice, and that teaching was as important as learning, and the two weren't mutually exclusive.

"Salmonmist. You are a new warrior, and have never taught an apprentice. However, I am confident you will do well with your first apprentice, and show Mirrorpaw how to grow into a true warrior of Rainclan."

"I will!" Salmonmist said fervently. Salmonmist seemed about ready to walk up to the front and greet Mirrorpaw, however Creekpool tugged her back and whispered something in her ear. The new mentor seemed a bit put out, however she waited for Mirrorpaw to approach. With how hesitant Mirrorpaw was and how enthusiastic Salmonmist was during their nose touching, Skypaw wasn't sure it was a great match. Though… He supposed that Salmonmist was brazen enough force Creekpool into action sometimes, even if the pushing was too much at times. Hopefully Mirrorpaw would respond well to Salmonmist's methods.

Skypaw's attention snapped back to Flashstar when the tom spoke again. "Peachkit, from this day on, until you receive your true name, you shall be known as Peachpaw." Flashstar looked to Cedarstrike, a brown-furred tom whose hazel eyes widened slightly. Skypaw didn't know him too well personally, however the warrior seemed to be on the quieter side. Not shy exactly, however he didn't seem much for taking initiative.

"Cedarstrike. You have never trained an apprentice before, however I believe you are ready now to, to pass on your knowledge to Peachpaw." Flashstar said.

Cedarstrike bowed his head. "I will do my best." He promised. Then he looked to Peachpaw, who had a relatively passive expression. She seemed much less on edge than her friend, Mirrorpaw. She approached her new mentor calmly, touching noses with him, and they exchanged a few quiet whispers before tuning back in for the rest of the meeting.

Flashstar looked to Silverkit next, who simply straightened her posture, doing her best to look up at Flashstar. "Silverkit, from this day on, until you receive your true name, you shall be known as Silverpaw." His piercing yellow eyes fixated upon the the former queen who had finally left the nursery, Lilysnow. Now that the last of her charges were fit to become apprentices, she was free to take up warrior duties again. Skypaw wondered if Flashstar picked her to be a mentor, so that the white-furred former queen might ease back into her duties, after over an entire seasonal cycle in the nursery.

"Lilysnow, you have trained apprentices in the past, and already share a bond with Silverpaw. I believe both will aid you in teaching Silverpaw the ways of the Rainclan warrior." Flashstar declared.

Lilysnow bowed my head. "It is an honor, Flashstar." The calm warrior moved to touch noses with her new, equally even-tempered apprentice. The pair that so far, Skypaw could see similarities in them. Though, he knew that Silverpaw could be a bit… Picky at times, from the times he'd had to fix up small cuts she'd somehow gotten in camp.

Then the leader of Rainclan's eyes went to Pearlkit, the last of her age group to be named. "Pearlkit, from this day on, until you receive your true name, you shall be known as Pearlpaw." Flashstar looked next to Twistflight, who immediately began squirming with a spark of panic. It was rather odd to see, since panic wasn't really something Skypaw often saw in the tom.

"Twistflight. It was only recently you gained your warrior name, and before that, you were an outsider. However, I believe it is right for you to train one of the kittens you brought into our clan, when you sought safety with us. It is my hope that you will both learn this experience, even you as you teach young Pearlpaw our ways." Skypaw had to wonder what was going on in Flashstar's head. He named Salmonmist, a new warrior a mentor… And even further, he named Twistflight a mentor who wasn't born in the clan and was new as well. It seemed a bit odd to not give the apprentices to those who already had experience with apprentices.

As Flashstar backed up on the Tall Root, the chanting began, cheering out the new names of the apprentices coming from the clan. Though, Skypaw could hear Cloudyflame's and Twistflight's voices above the rest.

"Interesting." Minnowheart remarked from her spot beside him, where she'd been sitting throughout the meeting. "I suppose you wouldn't quite have noticed, but Flashstar has a knack for choosing interesting mentors. He's not a very patient cat. He's of the mind that you need to jump headfirst into things." A faint smile crossed her face. "He wants Twistflight and Salmonmist to have that experience of teaching right now, because he doesn't see a reason to wait. Perhaps he believes the best way they can grow right now is from teaching another."

Skypaw nodded blankly. Minnowheart had somehow guessed what he was thinking and answered his question. He guessed that was that. He wondered if the two new mentors' time would now be dominated by their apprentices.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Greenleaf was ending, and Leaf-fall was beginning to make a comeback. Though, it wasn't as evident in Rainclan's territory, only serious change taking place when their rivers were covered with ice. However, it was still far too warm for any freezing to take place. Which, was why Salmonmist was currently monopolizing his free time, dragging him off for a swim.

All their other friends were busy, all with various warrior's duties, aside from Twistflight who was off busy training Pearlpaw. Salmonmist had claimed to have done the day's training with Mirrorpaw in the morning and given the apprentice the rest of the day off.

Skypaw was laying down on the riverbank, letting his paws hang off the edge, as Salmonmist was wading around in the water. It was a more peaceful river that Salmonmist had chosen, one of the more popular ones for simple recreational swimming.

"Why aren't you coming into the water?" Salmonmist questioned.

"I guess I don't feel like it." Skypaw answered, lowering himself and resting his head on the grass on the riverbank.

The white-furred she-cat huffed. "Before you know it, the rivers are going to be frozen over. We won't get to swim then!"

"Mm… I think I just want to relax…" Skypaw's eyes were about to flutter shut. Then suddenly, Salmonmist sprang out of the water and shoved him into the river. He let out a yelp of surprise.

"What in the name of Starclan was that for?!" He shrieked, after popping his back above the water after being fully submerged.

Salmonmist scoffed. "You shouldn't get lazy! You gotta be alert! Diligent! Ready! Prepared!" She declared.

Skypaw groaned. "I'm not a warrior. I don't have to be constantly on the lookout like you have to be." He complained.

"No, but you shouldn't slack! Shinestream would nap her life away if we let her!" Salmonmist's tail seemed to lash.

Skypaw cleared his throat, wishing for a change of topic. "So… How's training Mirrorpaw going?" He asked.

Salmonmist stared at him. "What? Where did that come from?" Skypaw supposed his subject change was a bit… Sudden and disjointed. "Anyway… It's going fine….! I mean…" The new mentor turned around and paced along the riverbank, absentmindedly pawing at the ground as she walked. "Mirrorpaw is kind of… Weird. She kinda reminds me of Creekpool, but less anxious… Mostly. She gets discouraged easily, though. It's so weird…"

"You think you'll be able to help her get more confident?" Skypaw asked.

Salmonmist seemed almost offended, instantly fixating upon him and huffing. Then she ripped her gaze away again. "Yeah! I mean, some real quality time with me and she'll be awesome in no time!" She declared. Then she leaped back into the river and splashed Skypaw.

"Agh! Can you stop splashing? Aren't you an adult?" He grumbled.

Salmonmist huffed. "You're the grumpiest and you're the only apprentice left out of our age group! How does that work?" She complained back at him.

"Guess being a warrior doesn't magically make you mature." Skypaw sniped back.

Salmonmist huffed, and began to almost sulk, lowering her head. It looked almost as if she was stalking in the water. "I guess that's true enough… Creekpool seems better, but he's still his nervous self." She admitted.

Skypaw had a thought. He thought that Salmonmist could use a subject change. "Creekpool and Faithwhisper seem to be spending lots of time together lately." He commented.

Salmonmist's head jerked up. "You think?" She said, suddenly sounding extremely alert.

Skypaw nodded. "Yeah. Bit weird, considering how they're both warriors now, and not mentor and apprentice."

Salmonmist squinted her eyes, looking past Skypaw. "You don't think Faithwhisper is doing anything weird to my baby brother…?!"

Skypaw blinked. "You and Creekpool are the same age." He pointed out.

Salmonmist huffed. "Yeah, but I feel like I have to take care of him! Him and Shinestream! Starclan, I don't know where those two would be without me!" She claimed loudly.

"Shinestream would probably be lazing her life away, and Creekpool might still be moping in his den about his lost eye." Skypaw remarked.

Salmonmist had a thoughtful look in her eye. She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." She took a deep breath and suddenly had this determined look on her face. "Yeah! So, I need to go find Faithwhisper and go grill her!" She shouted.

Skypaw blanched. "What." He said with a blank stare.

Salmonmist jumped out of the water, whipped around and grinned at the golden-furred medicine cat apprentice. "Thanks, Skypaw! Totally needed this! Thanks for the talk, bye…..!" She said, still screaming her goodbye in the distance as she ran off.

"Wait, Salmonmist, that's not what I….!" Skypaw groaned, as Salmonmist was already gone and likely far out of earshot. That really wasn't what he'd meant at all….

He should probably talk to Faithwhisper later today and apologize for accidentally spurring Salmonmist on like this. Though… It's possible the fiery she-cat would've come to the conclusion that she needed to interrogate Faithwhisper on her intentions towards Creekpool on her own. Salmonmist was predictably loud, though her actions could be a bit hard to foresee at times.

He sighed, and waded over to a more shallow part of the river, where he could lay down on the riverbed without submerging his face. He let himself relax and enjoy the river. He supposed Salmonmist was right and he should enjoy the water before it got frigid and froze over.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"I'm what?!"

"She's what?!"

Skypaw and Faithwhisper both couldn't hold in their surprise and slight incredulity at Minnowheart's announcement.

The medicine cat flicked one of her ears impatiently. "Did you two go deaf? I said… Faithwhisper. You're pregnant. You should've been more careful…." Then she turned and walked away, grumbling to herself. "This is why I'm happy as a medicine cat…. Reckless brats…"

Skypaw was still gaping. Faithwhisper was… Pregnant…?! Probably with Creekpool's kits?! This was… Absolutely insane! Skypaw was never going to have kits because he was a medicine cat, but still! He and his friends were all still a little young to have kits, weren't they? Faithwhisper was a bit young as well! This was… This was all too much. This was ridiculous! Well, he guessed there was denying it and nothing was going to change the fact that Faithwhisper was going to have kits! Creekpool's! Suddenly, he registered someone was calling his name.

"Skypaw?" The golden-furred tom turned his head to see Faithwhisper looking at him with wide eyes. "How am I going to explain this…?" She asked timidly.

It was…. Odd. Faithwhisper had never been as loud as Honeyspark, however she'd always struck him as confident. To hear this uncertainty in her voice was a little distressing.

"Explain what? I mean, explain to who?" Skypaw asked, stumbling over his first attempt to ask, before correcting it to something a little less dumb.

"To… Everyone, I suppose. To Creekpool… To my parents… To Creekpool's sisters… To Honeyspark… To everyone! The clan in general, I think." Faithwhisper answered quietly, her posture slumping.

Making a split second decision for once, Skypaw stepped forward and he sat down in front of her. "Hey, Faithwhisper." He said.

Faithwhisper's gaze rose back up from to floor to meet Skypaw's eyes.

"I'll be there with you. I'll help you explain." He promised.

Faithwhisper let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. It's… Nice to know I have someone supporting me." She cast a wary glance in the direction that Minnowheart had gone. "Minnowheart is a bit…"

Skypaw held up a paw. "Say no more. I know exactly how my mentor can be." He said, gently forming a smile. "So… Do you want to announce it now? Minnowheart won't air it to the clan, I promise. However, you can take some time to prepare yourself before telling everyone."

Faithwhisper sighed. "I wish I could hide this…." She murmured.

"You won't be able to hide it. Aside from that, you really shouldn't keep a secret like this." Skypaw said, though he was sympathetic to her plight. "Maybe if you get it over with, it'll be better…?" He suggested.

Faithwhisper looked down at the floor, staring for a few moments, before her gaze rose again. "I'll… Tell everyone tonight. You'll be there in case there's… Backlash, right?"

Skypaw nodded. "I promise."

Faithwhisper smiled gently. "Thank you, Skypaw. You're a good friend." Then her smile fell and she gazed towards the camp nervously.

Suddenly, Skypaw noticed Minnowheart padding back. "If you're worried about being unprepared to face anyone now, you can stare here until tonight." She said. "I'll tell Lightningfang you're laid up for the day and can't go on patrol."

Skypaw blinked. "Won't he ask why, though?"

Minnowheart snorted. "If I say it's medicine cat and patient confidentiality, do you really think he has enough guts to challenge me?" The smile that she gave, was all teeth and unnerved Skypaw, and Faithwhisper as well it seemed, judging by how she froze up slightly.

Lightningfang might outrank Minnowheart, however Minnowheart was mildly terrifying. The only one she didn't outright frighten was probably Flashstar, because he has the most experience with using his poker face on a clanmate.

Skypaw swallowed. "Good point." He answered.

Minnowheart walked past the pair. "Skypaw, why don't you stay with Faithwhisper while I go tell Lightningfang?" She asked, though… Skypaw really knew it was a command. He only nodded, but he didn't think she saw. He sighed and looked to Faithwhisper.

"She isn't like that everyday… Is she?" The silvery she-cat asked carefully.

"Sadly, yes. She is roughly like that almost every day." Skypaw replied. He was likely the only one in the clan with near constant contact with the medicine cat, with even Flashstar only talking to her occasionally for on the occasion the leader got injured, or they needed to talk about something important. When Minnowheart and Flashstar had those meetings, they were generally a bit boring and brief. By important, it mostly consisted of Flashstar asking Minnowheart if she'd received anything new from Starclan, to which Minnowheart would reply no. Then whatever the conversation turned into depended on the day and what came out of Minnowheart's mouth, before Flashstar's patience ran out and they were mildly politely kicked out of Flashstar's den. Skypaw usually stayed silent.

"Wow…. Morningglow is intense, but Minnowheart is…. Something else." Faithwhisper gently shook her head.

Skypaw nodded. "Yeah…. That's true… But she's a good mentor." He confessed. "I can't imagine my life if I hadn't chosen this path… If I had chosen to train as a warrior instead of a medicine cat."

Faithwhisper looked at Skypaw. She smiled. "You know… I can't either, because I think this suits you. You like taking care of cats, don't you?"

Skypaw nodded. "Yeah… I don't think conflict is my thing. I mean… The last time Rainclan had a battle was before I was born, but it'll come again at some point, won't it?"

Faithwhisper sighed. "We could hope that this peace will last forever."

"But it won't." Skypaw said. "If it could… We wouldn't really need warriors or medicine cats, would we?" He asked quietly.

Faithwhisper sighed again. "I suppose not."

Skypaw perked up, lifting his head from his slumped posture as he saw Minnowheart returning.

"You're all set." She said, looking to Faithwhisper. Then the medicine cat's gaze turned on Skypaw. "Leaf-fall is setting in. Why don't you go out and see what herbs you can scrounge up without killing our herbs forever?" She asked again. "I can look after Faithwhisper."

Skypaw sighed and lifted himself to his paws. "I'll see you tonight, Faithwhisper." He said, looking at his friend.

Faithwhisper smiled. "Tonight."

Skypaw turned his gaze away, and he walked out of the medicine cat's den, out of camp, and into the territory to do the job that Minnowheart asked of him.


	29. Chapter 29

_((So! I realized a small error... That something wasn't quite explained, and I'm not sure that it will be explained, since it's mostly details. Basically, it's how Birchwhisper knows the prophecy. Since Lightningfang's kits were the subject of the prophecy and he is the deputy, he was told the prophecy. He made the decision to tell Birchwhisper who... Didn't exactly keep it a secret or subtle, and her own decisions resulted from Lightningfang telling her the prophecy.))_

Chapter 29

Skypaw carried what scraps of herbs he figured could be spared in his jaws. Of course, they left some of the herbs untouched that grew in Rainclan's territory. They couldn't uproot all of them, even if they needed them badly, since that would leave no room for more herbs to grow when Newleaf rolled around again. They couldn't squeeze the land of its herbs, no matter how great the temptation to.

Walking across camp and into the medicine cat's den, he reached into the medicine stores and deposited the herbs in his jaws. Then as he withdrew, he looked around to see Faithwhisper in the back. He cautiously took a few steps towards her.

"Hey, Faithwhisper. I'm back. Are you ready?" He asked.

The silvery tabby looked over her shoulder. "... I… Don't believe I can ever really be ready for doing something like this." She confessed. "I think at best… I don't feel an powerful urge to run anymore…. But for all intents and purposes… Yes, I'm ready." Faithwhisper turned around and walked toward Skypaw, who nodded and turned around.

The golden-furred apprentice lead his older friend out of the medicine cat's den. "So… We'll be telling Creekpool first, right?" He asked Faithwhisper, looking over his shoulder. She nodded in return.

"Yes. He should know first." She said, sounding more confident than she had all day.

Skypaw noticed Shinestream lazing by the fresh-kill pile. He approached her, and she lifted her head to acknowledge his approach.

"Hey, Shinestream? Do you know where Creekpool is?" He asked.

"... Should still be in the warrior's den." She replied.

"Anyone else in there?" Skypaw asked, knowing that Faithwhisper and Creekpool would likely not want just anyone listening in… At least, for now.

"Nah. Everyone else is out. He's just been moping in there." Shinestream answered with a roll of her eyes.

Skypaw nodded. "Thanks."

Faithwhisper nodded as well, behind him and murmured out a thank you.

Shinestream tilted her head, though she didn't say anything as the silvery warrior and golden apprentice turned and padded towards the warrior's den.

Skypaw didn't usually have reasons to actually enter the warrior's den. The warrior's den on the edge of camp, with its "walls" being a line of bushes and the side of an extremely large tree root. In between the two "walls" where the warriors' nests, with senior warriors' nests being closer to the trunk of the tree. Since Creekpool was a newer warrior, his nest would be one of the closest ones from standing just outside the den.

True to Shinestream's claim, Creekpool indeed did seem to be sulking a little bit in his nest.

Skypaw cleared his throat. "Hey, uh, Creekpool?" He called out.

This caught the black and white tom's attention as his head jerked up and he immediately looked to Skypaw. "Oh. Hello, Skypaw….. Ah! Faithwhisper!" It took a moment for Creekpool to notice Faithwhisper behind the golden-furred apprentice, immediately jumping to his paws at the realization.

"Yeah… So… Faithwhisper has something to tell you." Skypaw looked over his shoulder and nodded at her with a faint, encouraging smile. Then he backed up, Faithwhisper stepping up, swapping places.

Faithwhisper swallowed. Creekpool tried to smile, though it came out more anxious that he'd likely hoped. The grey-eyed tom's eyes ended up folding back.

"S-So…. Faithwhisper….?" Creekpool asked, stumbling a bit at the beginning.

Faithwhisper took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Creekpool… I'm… Pregnant."

Creekpool's jaw dropped open, and he began stammering as he tried to regain his bearings and formulate a response, though it largely didn't come out as anything coherent.

"They… Could only be your kits…." Faithwhisper continued, uncertainty tinting her voice faintly. "Maybe we weren't trying to have kits, we were just… Experimenting a little, but this is where we are." She said, though she sounded like she was trying to be more confident than she actually was.

Creekpool swallowed and seemed to be trying to grasp at words, but just couldn't find the right ones.

Skypaw thought maybe he should… Step in, before Creekpool's stumblings gave Faithwhisper the wrong idea. He stepped forward. "So… You two weren't as careful as you could've been, and now you two are going to be parents… But… This doesn't have to be bad." He began.

Finally, Creekpool managed to spit out something coherent. "I-It wasn't bad in the f-first place it's just…."

"It's just sudden and you don't know if you're ready for it." Skypaw finished, though his gaze looked to Faithwhisper and Creekpool. It seemed his statement was true for the both of them, judging by their expressions.

They both nodded quietly. Skypaw did his best to give a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you two will be good parents. You're… Young. Actually, we're all pretty young. Though, you won't be alone. It's not as if you'll be facing this all alone. You have your families… You have the clan… You have your friends." He promised.

"We have you." Faithwhisper said softly, appearing more relaxed than before.

"So… I think you two should… Probably figure out how you're going to explain how this happened." Skypaw said quietly.

"W-What? Why? W-Why is that anyone's b-business?!" Creekpool stuttered, apparently getting flustered at the idea of having to explain exactly how they got here… Which, Skypaw was pretty sure he knew, even if it was er… Not a great topic of conversation that anyone really wanted to have.

Faithwhisper seemed equally uncomfortably, now trying to hide her face from Skypaw.

The medicine cat apprentice sighed. "Because…. You'll have to explain it to your families that will likely demand answers. I can imagine Honeyspark and Salmonmist will both be fairly demanding in their desire for an explanation." He pointed out.

Both soon-to-be parents cringed at the thought. "Oh." Creekpool said weakly.

Faithwhisper sighed. "You're right… We can't afford to… Phrase it incorrectly and give everyone the wrong idea because we were caught off guard with questions."

"But… How… How do we explain it?" Creekpool asked quietly. "It's… How? How do we explain it and have them understand?"

Skypaw gently placed a paw on his chest. "Why don't you practice with me?" He suggested.

Faithwhisper nodded with a smile. "That's a great idea." Then she looked to Creekpool, who seemed to calming down… Somewhat.

"O-Okay…. Uh…" The grey-eyed tom glanced to his… Mate, Skypaw guessed she was at this point. "S-So…. U-Uh…. It was kind of…. Faithwhisper's idea… T-Though! I agreed! It wasn't pressure or anything!" Creekpool explained, though speeding through his last words.

Faithwhisper seemed to be trying to find the right words. "... It was my idea." She admitted. "I was… Curious about the er… Experience. Creekpool was the only one I felt… I could ask to help me satisfy my curiosity. We didn't expect anything to come of it… But we did talk about it first. It wasn't… That spur of the moment. We at least were absolutely certain the other was willing."

After Faithwhisper said her piece, Creekpool began nodding fervently. "Y-Yeah! It wasn't anything bad, we just uh…. I mean, it wasn't a bad thing at all! It was uh… Nice to share something really important and personal with Faithwhisper… It's just we uh… Didn't expect this consequence…" He admitted.

Skypaw listened. "Maybe try to stick with what you just said… Not your first attempt, Creekpool. It kind of makes it sound like you're lying." He said plainly.

Creekpool immediately grew tense. "I-I'm not lying!" He almost wailed.

"I didn't say you were lying!" Skypaw said quickly. "I'm just saying, it looks a bit… Suspicious, and we don't need Salmonmist pouncing on Faithwhisper for no reason."

Faithwhisper laughed weakly as Creekpool agreed. "Y-Yeah, I love Salmonmist but she uh…"

"She acts too fast." Skypaw said, knowing Salmonmist and her uh… Impulses rather well.

"... Thank you, Skypaw. I think… Creekpool and I will be able to explain to our loved ones and the clan now." She assured him.

Skypaw glanced briefly at Creekpool and he looked like he was trying to force himself to look more confident… Though, he was calmer. That was good.

"You're welcome. I'll ask Minnowheart for you, as for when you should move into the nursery." He promised.

"Oh! I didn't think about that. Thank you, again." Faithwhisper said, slightly bowing her head in thanks.

Then Skypaw turned around and walked his way back to the medicine cat's den, making his way across camp. As he walked inside, he found Minnowheart near the back.

"So, kid. How are are the lovebirds?" The hazel-eyed she-cat asked, turning to look at him.

"Probably fine? I mean, Faithwhisper seems more confident… And Creekpool knows and seems… Fine, probably. They're going to tell everyone else on their own." Skypaw told her.

Minnowheart snorted. "Fine, probably? Don't sound too sure yourself."

Skypaw shrugged. "... Creekpool's calm is kind of… Relative, rather than definitive." He responded. "So… Uh… When should Faithwhisper move into the nursery?"

"Not immediately… She has a little time still. Though, soon we will have to force her into the nursery… And make her actually stay there. Keeping her safe and healthy will be best for both her and the kittens she carries." Minnowheart explained.

"... Force her? Are you expecting her to be difficult?" Skypaw asked, mildly confused. Faithwhisper usually wasn't the uncooperative type, she was usually nice and did her best to help.

"Tch. Even the so called nice and quiet ones are resistant, they're just less loud about it. No warrior worth their salt likes being cooped up. For them, they live for being able to jump around, and swim to their heart's content. Being forced to stay in camp for their own good for moons? Doesn't tend to sit well with them. Yeah, just you wait. Faithwhisper's going to get cranky just like any other… And you're going to help me with her. I scare everyone, but she actually likes you. You've got the magic touch." She claimed.

"... Magic touch?" Skypaw repeated, not quite sure what his mentor was going on about.

Minnowheart laughed. "Just wait on it. You'll see what I mean, all in due time."

Skypaw sighed. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.


	30. Chapter 30

_((I changed the genre from family to friendship, since there is a stronger focus I feel on Skypaw's friendships and such, rather than family ties._

 _Also, I'm sorry that the chapter took such a long time! School kept me busy, and I have a lot of personal projects I tend to juggle… As well, midterms have passed. Anyways, finally I have time and ability to write the next chapter.))_

Chapter 30

Skypaw hadn't seen his mother, Birchwhisper, since before his apprentice ceremony. Not that he'd completely avoided her, he'd sometimes be forced to pass by her and he'd see her across camp sometimes. It was impossible to avoid anyone completely in the clan, though he hadn't really been forced to actually talk to her or listen to her words since kithood. She'd eventually stopped trying, but in the beginning, she'd sometimes tried to talk to him. Minnowheart always blocked the way, and his mentor accompanied him most of the time in the early days of his apprenticeship. Sending him out alone to perform errands or in his free time was something that had come later. He still had to dodge Birchwhisper though, and sometimes it could be a little exhausting.

As far as he knew, however, Fadingfire was similarly trying to avoid their mother. Skypaw didn't hate Birchwhisper exactly, but… He wasn't sure it was a good sign when her mate, and both her sons were actively trying to avoid spending time with her. He didn't even think that Birchwhisper was close to anyone in the clan, actually. At least, it didn't seem like it, but he wasn't exactly sure since he wasn't stalking his mother or anything.

Skypaw knew that it was slightly unrealistic to expect that he could keep avoiding Birchwhisper forever, however… He didn't think that he could confront his mother about her behavior, nor did he want to listen to her. From what he remembered her being like… She seemed to be rather… Set in her ways and not easily persuaded.

He sighed from where he sat along the riverbank, not sure why he was wrapped up in thoughts of Birchwhisper, as he stared into his reflection in the water.

"Is this where you always disappear to, unsupervised by Minnowheart?"

Birchwhisper's voice shocked Skypaw, causing him to leap to his paws. He quickly turned around and sat down, trying to force a smile. "Oh, hey….! M-Mom… What are you doing here?" He bit back a nervous chuckle.

Birchwhisper's passive expression didn't change, her tail only idly swinging behind her. Skypaw suddenly felt small, already feeling Birchwhisper's judgement pressing down on him. Similarly to Minnowheart, Birchwhisper could be intimidating with little effort but… Minnowheart was familiar and almost welcome, even when she was being… Well… Herself. Skypaw felt slightly ashamed, but Birchwhisper's presence was never welcome, not to him.

"Skypaw." Birchwhisper began. "You have been avoiding me." She stated simply.

"Avoiding? I've just been busy… Minnowheart has had lots of teach me, and everything." Skypaw tried to explain.

"And yet, you've had to time to spend with your friends." She said.

Skypaw did his best to keep his posture straight. "Uh, and how'd you know that…?"

"Your friend Creekpool, unlike you, is quite honest and forthcoming." Birchwhisper explained coolly. "Your desire to preserve your image is admirable. Your desire to do so to your mother is not." The silvery female sighed, turning around and gazing upwards. "I imagine the influence of… Fadingfire and that mentor of your's has been less than favorable. You see me as an enemy. You viewed your apprenticeship as an escape from me."

"You're assuming a lot…" Skypaw almost whispered, before adjusting his volume to what Birchwhisper would certainly hear.

"Assume? Perhaps. Though, I believe my claims are rather likely. You have never once attempted to speak with me since your apprenticeship ceremony, thus forcing me to take the initiative." Birchwhisper looked over her shoulder, shooting Skypaw with a piercing gaze.

Skypaw swallowed. "... Okay. Maybe that part's right. But it's not… It's not because of Minnowheart or Fadingfire." He said, trying to straighten his posture once more and keep his voice calm and level.

"Oh? Then explain to me why Minnowheart blocked many of my attempts to speak with my own son?" Birchwhisper challenged, turning around and taking a few steps closer to Skypaw.

It took every scrap of willpower for Skypaw to not instinctively try to move away from the threatening advance. "She didn't want disruptions to my training." Skypaw replied, trying to sound as confident as he'd like to be, if he was stronger.

Birchwhisper finally stopped advancing, and instead, she turned to the side to gaze off into the distance. "Hm. The medicine cat training must be more rigorous than I had originally assumed." She sounded as if she was begrudgingly admitting she was wrong.

"... It's just as important as the training of warriors in the clan." Skypaw answered, feeling more adamant about this answer, as it was something he felt deeply. He respected the role of warriors, however he didn't think that was his true path. He preferred the choice to heal and repair, rather than to attack and defend with his own flesh.

"... I would assume that by now… Minnowheart would have told you of the prophecy. The one concerning your birth. Unless… She hasn't?" Birchwhisper asked, gently turned her eyes towards Skypaw upon her question.

Skypaw folded his ears back. "Actually… She has." He refuted. "She told me." Then he remembered something. "... How do you know?" He thought that the majority of the clan wasn't usually told about the prophecies or omens, unless they were to be acted upon.

Birchwhisper sniffed. "Lightningfang was informed of the prophecy when Minnowheart received it. Being the deputy coupled with the fact that he referenced in the prophecy made it natural for him to hear it. He made the decision to tell me as well. A decision I believe he was wise to make."

Skypaw didn't agree. "... Fadingfire… I told him." He said, not sure why he shared that piece of information.

Birchwhisper cast another glance at Skypaw. Then she huffed and looked away again. "That was foolish. You likely only accelerated the rate at which he's moving towards his destiny."

Skypaw did his best to avoid snapping back. "He's not going to turn… Evil."

Bircwhisper looked at Skypaw again. "You doubt Starclan's prophecy? You believe nothing but your faith can deter fate?" She asked, sounding incredulous.

Skypaw could feel his fur bristling, and honestly…. He didn't like how much Birchwhisper was throwing around the word "fate." He couldn't believe his brother could bring Rainclan's ruin. Fadingfire could be… Difficult… But he loved Rainclan. Even if they were having troubles for now, Fadingfire couldn't possibly change so much that he'd hurt Rainclan. "... It's not going to turn out that way. He… He's not going to turn out that way." He said, his words being spat out as he rose to his paws.

Birchwhisper eyed him with interest that deeply bothered Skypaw. "Hmph. You dare believe that Starclan lied, and you only show fire in his defense. Shame that what little passion and determination you have is so misplaced." She scoffed. "Though, I can't say I'm surprised. This clan… Sadly, has become filled with heretics, and that Minnowheart… I cannot say I ever expected her to raise any good apprentice worth their salt." She gazed at Skypaw. "... I am disappointed that I was right… Just this once."

Skypaw, bit back his next bout of angry words in favor of staring downwards, into the grass.

"... Hmph. I see that I am too late to make any significant change in your attitude. Such a shame… Fine, then. I shall grant your wish and do my best to disappear from your life as effectively as I may." Skypaw could hear Birchwhisper's fading pawsteps, even as he stared at the ground.

When her pawsteps couldn't be heard any longer, Skypaw collapsed to the ground and couldn't help the heavy and swift breaths rushing back and forth. His clenched teeth, and tense unsheathed claws digging up dirt showed Skypaw that he was angry. Angry at Birchwhisper. He guessed he did have some capacity for hate after all. He was pretty sure he hated his mother… At least a little bit.

He lay there, trying to get a grip on his newfound anger. He hadn't known he could feel like this, never quite feeling this burning sensation before, always feeling calm concern or nervousness… Maybe even a pinprick of fear. Though, eventually the feelings… Well, not faded, but he was able to get a grip on his emotions.

He stood back up and began making tracks back for the camp. It was late, anyways. He needed… He needed to go back to camp and sleep. Maybe some sleep would do him some good.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Skypaw couldn't sleep. After his… Hopefully last private experience with Birchwhisper, he was having trouble getting to sleep. That night, after he'd gone home, he hadn't even been able to fall asleep. He tried closing his eyes, however he ended up simply laying there in his nest with his eyes closed. The anger that had accompanied Birchwhisper's presence had since dulled into heavy exhaustion, weighing down his pelt like water on an Earthclanner's pelt. He supposed he did eventually obtain something approaching rest, feeling as his consciousness was flitting in between laying there and being suspended in a foggy, hazy state that partially passed for sleep. It wasn't particularly restful, and he woke up not feeling much better than the night before.

Minnowheart had given him an odd look, but he forced a smile and didn't say anything. She didn't question his behavior, which he was thankful for. He didn't want to keep secrets, but… He didn't really want to talk about his dealings with Birchwhisper. He preferred if he could just forget it, as she seemed to be letting go of him. Skypaw figured he should probably be happy that she wasn't going to be trying to interject herself back into his life anymore. Especially considering that Skypaw had been spending his life since his apprenticeship ceremony avoiding her. But that persistent unpleasant feeling in his gut remained. She just had to get her last licks in, didn't she? Skypaw couldn't help the bitter thought.

Skypaw found himself yawning, and dropping some herbs from his jaws later in the day. He sighed, and bent down to pick them back up. He wasn't doing so great, and he hoped this wouldn't become a pattern. He gently shook his head. Maybe he should go splash some water on his face later. But not right now. Shadowsnake had been complaining of stomach pains and claimed it was something he ate, so Skypaw was taking some borage leaves to him at the moment. However, as he padded back into the den, he caught Minnowheart yawning.

When she caught him staring at her, she scowled at him. "What?" She said, clearly in a bad moon.

"Do you want to go to the river with me?" Skypaw asked suddenly. He felt like he needed to talk to Minnowheart. "... To wake us up a little, I mean. So we can splash some water on our faces. Should help, right?" He hastily added on. Thankfully, the water was no longer as frigid as it could get in Leaf-bare, but it was still plenty cool enough that it would wake them both up a little.

Minnowheart seemed to mull over the thought. "You know what, sure." She answered with a shrug. "We can go now. There is nothing urgent for us to tend to right now, and we could use the break." She said with a crooked grin.

So, they went. Minnowheart lead the way, though she didn't go straight to the nearest stream in Rainclan territory. She seemed to be heading to one of the larger rivers, and Skypaw didn't seem any reason to protest, so he didn't bring it up. He was feeling rather tired from being unable to sleep last night. At times like this, he wondered how Fadingfire managed to cram in night time practice to supplement his normal training during the day. Skypaw is sure, judging from his current experience, that he'd drop and be barely functional if he tried anything like that. Fadingfire probably had a lot more will than he did… Skypaw just wished he wasn't channeling it into avoiding Skypaw.

Skypaw huffed and shook his head to clear himself of these thoughts. He didn't want to forget all about Fadingfire, but it did him no good to get caught up in it, especially since Fadingfire didn't seem anywhere close to being ready to repair their relationship.

Upon reaching the river, Minnowheart moved forward and dunked her face into the water. Her head sprang back up as she sharply exhaled, shaking her head, causing water droplets to go flying. Skypaw approached the river and pawed at the water's surface. It was pretty cold. He sucked in a breath, before he quickly dunked his face into the water as well. It certainly helped banish the heaviness of his tired eyelids, ripping him out of whatever fuzziness was inside of his head from lack of sleep. He sat back, wiping at his face to try and get some of the water off. He didn't exactly want his face to be soaking wet as he walked around.

"... You didn't get much sleep either, did you?" Skypaw idly asked.

"... What of it?" Minnowheart grumbled, seemingly already settling on the riverbank, laying down to rest her head.

"We should probably be better rested…." Skypaw mused as he looked over at his reflection in the river water. "... For the clan's sake."

Minnowheart shrugged. "... Not just for the clan. For your own sake too, Skypaw."

Skypaw silently noticed how Minnowheart was focused on him, even though she'd been having troubles sleeping too. Though… Unlike him, he did notice Minnowheart actually had been slumbering. He turned his head to look at her.

"You… Okay?" He asked, awkwardly shuffling his paws. He looked out for his clanmates, sure, but Minnowheart was something else. It felt weird to feel like he had to inquire after her health as well.

Minnowheart grunted. "Don't worry about me, Skypaw. Worry about yourself."

"That's not a warning is it?" Skypaw asked, unable to keep a note of worry out of his voice.

Minnowheart laughed dryly. "You can relax, Skypaw. It's just advice. From a mentor to her apprentice." She assured him. Then her face became more serious, as she was more clearly focused on Skypaw. "Couldn't sleep or nightmares?" She asked bluntly.

Skypaw bit his lip. "... I couldn't sleep. I tried… But I just sort of ended up laying there." He admitted.

Skypaw knew for a fact that no one in Rainclan particularly liked when Minnowheart turned her intensity upon them. Different cats dealt with Minnowheart in their own way. Skypaw personally had a hard time refusing Minnowheart when she wanted something. Likely because he just didn't want to fight her if he didn't have to.

"Was there something that kept you from sleeping? Did something happen?" Minnowheart asked.

Skypaw let out a deep sigh. He surprised himself with how weary it sounded. "... Mom… She… We had a… We talked. She said I was a lost cause and she still believes Fadingfire is…. Y'know." He absentmindedly scratched at the ground in front of him.

Minnowheart scoffed, as she lifted up her head, using her forelegs to hold up the front half of her body. "Birchwhisper is wrong. You're going to be a great medicine cat, Skypaw. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Your brother's stupid, but he isn't a bad cat." She argued. "Your mother clings to false notions and she's never really had much sense." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I was surprised when we found out she was pregnant with you two."

Somehow, Skypaw could see that. He knew that his mother ah… Didn't really have any friends in the clan. Even Lightningfang, their father, tried to actively avoid her when he could. No one spent time with Birchwhisper on purpose. It was sad, but strangely Skypaw couldn't bring himself to feel too bad for her. Maybe it was because it wasn't because of anything but Birchwhisper herself.

Skypaw bit his lip. Minnowheart asked if he simply couldn't sleep or if he specifically had nightmares. If he were to ask such a thing, it'd be rather bold and it was possible Minnowheart would become short with him. But he felt he had to ask. Even so. Even if she got mad, even if Skypaw didn't really want to pick a fight with her. "Did you have nightmares? Is that why you're tired now?"

The way Minnowheart stiffened up and glared at him…. Skypaw suddenly found himself straightening his spine and stiffening up. "I didn't have any nightmares." She told him. She didn't raise her voice, but the sheer intensity, it almost felt like he was trapped in a flood under her gaze. "I went to sleep late and woke early." She claimed.

Skypaw didn't believe her. "But did you dream?"

Minnowheart abruptly stood up and suddenly was in his face, Skypaw found his ears folding back as he grew ever stiffer. His claws were digging into the ground so hard, he felt like he might rip up the ground under him.

"Skypaw. Drop it." She growled softly at him. Then she walked past him, stalking off, presumably heading back to camp.

Skypaw let out a deep sigh. It didn't sound any better than his other weary sigh. Was he really this tired now? He took a few rounds of deep breathing, relaxing his muscles and sheathing his claws. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, before he began to slowly walk back as well. He wouldn't bring this up again. He couldn't force the truth from Minnnowheart before it was time.

 _((A/N: I'm so sorry for the extreme lateness of this chapter. There were a lot of things getting in the way of this chapter, mainly school and admittedly I forgot about this story for a bit… But I will definitely finish it, I promise. It just might not be that fast, as I have other projects I work on besides this story. It can be hard and slow to write these chapters, so I beg patience as I slowly chip away at this story.))_


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